


Bad Moon Rising

by DemonSaya



Series: Running with the Wolves [2]
Category: Labyrinth (1986)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:20:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 46,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26144773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonSaya/pseuds/DemonSaya
Summary: A year after the death of her grandmother, Sarah gets an alert on her television, telling her not to look at the moon. Sequel to Running with the Wolves
Relationships: Jareth & Sarah Williams, Jareth/Sarah Williams
Series: Running with the Wolves [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875229
Comments: 104
Kudos: 86





	1. Chapter 1

Sarah’s studio apartment in New York didn’t have spectacular views like her grandmother’s cabin did. It did, however, have a twenty-four hour cafe on the ground level that sold fresh donuts every morning. It was positioned conveniently two blocks away from the theater her troupe worked out of, where she sometimes managed to squeeze in a role or two. Most importantly, it was affordable enough that she could manage the rent.

The place wasn’t a large one, just over two hundred square feet, with a kitchen that consisted of a stove, a refrigerator, and one countertop. On the long wall beside it was a closet that held a washer and dryer with enough space for her to hang her winter coat and a jacket. The only other door besides the one that led into the hallway was the one that opened into her three quarter bathroom. There was barely enough space behind the door for the shower, toilet, and sink that were in it.

As far as the apartments she’d had, however, she’d lived in much worse.

The one she’d lived in a year ago, her father had delicately described as “unpleasant”, but the reality of the matter was it was a slum. She’d lived there because it was cheap, because they’d rent to her without concern for her finances, and she’d regretted it immediately after she’d signed the lease. Getting to go to her grandmother’s cabin the last few months of it was a blessing in disguise, because her apartment had been broken into by some sketchy people who were after the landlord for loans he’d taken out.

The reason she was in a place as nice as this now was because her lover and fiance had worked some sort of magic on the property manager she’d met with. His first visit to her previous apartment had turned into a huge row that ended with the two of them nearly destroying the twin bed she’d been using at the time. In hindsight, he’d been right to be pissed off. The place wasn’t safe, but she hadn’t wanted to beg income assistance from her father in order to sustain the life she’d chosen. As it was, she knew her father had pulled her out of a lot of shady situations when she was younger. At thirty six, she didn’t feel comfortable relying on him and Karen for monetary support any longer.

Jareth, however, had no problem twisting rules that annoyed him, and had ensured that she would live in an apartment that was at least safe. He took care of the problem, and told her that the future wife of the Goblin King would not be living in “squalor” ever again.

She’d had no choice when he’d said that to tease him about the state of his throne room and ask him if that meant that he’d been working on cleaning that up. His jaw had clenched, and she’d found herself heaved onto her bed, again. That time, they had managed to destroy the frame.

If one thing was true for her and Jareth, they had incredible chemistry - reactive and explosive. That particular part of their relationship was true in and out of bed. They teased each other, they fought with and for each other, and when they ended making love, it was hot enough she was amazed they hadn’t singed her sheets.

Tonight, she sat in a chair by one of the windows, staring out at the street below, watching as people rushed around to escape the fall rain. The street lights reflected off the ground, keeping the city bright well into the evening. The city would never be like her grandmother’s cabin in Ireland. If she was honest, she liked that about it. She loved the peace she found at the cabin, but New York was a city that never seemed to sleep. There was always movement and energy that seemed to beat close to the surface. The pulse was in the footfall of the people on the sidewalk, the car horns that blared on the street, the rumble of the subway, underground.

It was vibrant and exciting.

Ireland’s pulse was different. Deeper under the earth, like some great beast slept beneath the land, waiting to awaken. She found peace and solitude there when she wanted or needed it. So, while she lived in New York most of the time, she would escape to the cabin in periods of high stress.

She didn’t have to fly there, anymore. She just had to open a door.

Among the new tricks she’d picked up in the last year, since her adventure with Jareth in the fairy lands, it was one of her favorites. It took her a little while to get it right, but it was useful, and versatile. It also wasn’t one that her lover really approved of. It seemed simple enough, to her. It shouldn’t get her into unnecessary trouble, and it saved her both time and money to use. She also took great care about how and when she used it.

Most people and places wouldn’t notice a random door appearing out of nowhere. But sometimes, people were more perceptive, and so it wasn’t something she used to access public spaces.

A simple chalk outline of a door, a sort of knob to turn, knock three times while thinking of where you wanted to go, and then turn the knob. The door would open wherever she wanted, unless that place was the Underground. For whatever reason, the magic she used to create the doors couldn’t breach the veil. He’d warned her that she shouldn’t try to use that method to get through, that her magic wasn’t faerie magic, and would result in unexpected reactions that could put her somewhere she didn’t want to be.

She’d taken his word for that. She’d learned the hard way last year to trust the Goblin King.

However, her magic had changed since her trip to the Underground the year prior. Even with Jareth trying to keep her visits to that side of the veil down until they were married, she’d noticed that she attracted both magical creatures and items. Which meant she also attracted magical troubles. She wasn’t certain how much of that was because of her relationship with Jareth, or because she was fae-touched, or because of her maternal line.

It didn’t even matter, it was just a fact of her life, now.

Last winter, after a big snow storm, there’d been a nasty problem with a Wendigo just north of her parents house in upstate New York that she’d gone to deal with at her brother’s request. He was someone she’d felt comfortable discussing the changes to her life with, in ways that she never would with her parents. Still, the creature had been crossing over from Canada and kidnapping and eating whole families in its hunger.

Jareth getting called through her mirror in her childhood home had almost sent him into a rage that reminded her of when they were first reunited, but he hadn’t tried to stop her that time. He just dropped himself into the situation to make certain she got out of it in one piece. It helped that he was a proverbial treasure trove of information, so it was seldom that her lover didn’t have answers when she needed them, and when he didn’t he could get them. 

They’d managed to save the last family that was taken, and Jareth handled their memories of the events so they wouldn’t fall apart. It had been touch and go, but everyone made it through that adventure intact, again.

Her trick with the doors wasn’t the only new quirk she’d developed, either. She could see magic, now. Holes in the veil, Jareth had called them. Places where the magic poured through, sometimes for a moment, sometimes for longer. When she put doors in those spots, they needed less of her own power to work, so they were less draining.

Besides that, since the dream before she’d found her grandmother dead, she was having more and more dreams like that. Vivid, realistic ones that worried her that she was seeing more than just dreams. Lately, they’d been dreams of a never ending night, darkness that seemed to stretch on forever. Those ones worried her enough that she’d brought the dreams up to Jareth.

He’d said that if she was having prophetic dreams, they wouldn’t be able to tell until something actually bit her in the ass - hopefully figuratively. So she tried to ignore them for the most part, though she did take the time to write them down in a dream journal, just to keep track of them.

He wasn’t trying to diminish her worries. She knew that. Her magic wasn’t faerie magic, it was earth magic, something that came from her mother’s side of the family. From Rhiannon’s side. As such, Jareth didn’t understand all of it. All he knew for certain was that his own contact with her, her possession of magical items, and her more recent practice to hone the magic she had resulted in her powers growing.

When he’d admitted to that, there had been a troubled, tight expression on her lover’s face and she knew he was worried about it, even if he didn’t talk to her about his worries. She recognized that expression too well. She’d seen it often enough when they’d been together in the faerie realms last summer. He wore it whenever the thoughts he had weren’t good ones. Like when he’d asked her why she wasn’t afraid of him.

He seldom chose to share those thoughts. He preferred to trouble through them on his own, at least at first. She knew that. He also wasn’t the quickest to share his inner thoughts. If they hadn’t spent the previous summer together so often, she doubted he’d share any at all. It took a lot of patience and careful questioning before he’d open up about whatever concerns he had.

Which often were quite a lot.

She gave a quiet sigh, getting to her feet and setting the futon bed into a lying position, before getting ready for bed. It was getting late. Knowing Jareth, if he was coming by today, it would be after she was asleep. She seldom admitted to missing him, but today, she did. He’d been busy with something that troubled him in his own realm, another thing he hadn’t shared with her. He’d told her it wasn’t her responsibility to save the whole of two realms from whatever problems they had.

She hoped he’d come by, today, and figured if she went to bed now, she’d at least speed things up. So she brushed her teeth and hair, settling in for the night. She’d just laid down when her phone rang and she pulled it towards her. Her brother’s name popped up and she gave a quiet sigh, looking at the time. It was almost midnight. If he was calling this late, it was important. So, she swiped a finger across the screen, answering it.

“What’s up, Toby?”

“Heya, I got a package addressed to you,” her brother’s voice sounded perplexed, and she heard him grunt a bit, and she closed her eyes, rubbing her temple.

“Why are you getting my packages?” Her mail getting delivered to her parents house wasn’t unusual. She’d made certain things like packages were rerouted there, to keep them from getting nicked when she’d lived at her last apartment.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Toby said, and he went quiet for a moment. “Looks like it’s from your grandmother? Rhiannon? Wasn’t she the one who died last year?”

She felt a pang in her chest at the mention of her grandmother, and then the words caught up with her. Sarah jacknived into a seated position, shocked. It took her a moment to find words. “What do you mean from Rhiannon?”

“I don’t know? Maybe her lawyer mailed it to you?”

Fat chance. If Rhiannon had something to send to her, she wouldn’t have bothered having Jareth do it. He hadn’t wanted her to bother Sarah with the treasures the previous summer. There was no way in hell Jareth would have a hand in getting something mailed to her. Still, she shook that question off, for now.

“This is something you decided to put off telling me about until midnight?”

“I wasn’t putting anything off, it just got here.” Her brother’s voice was curt, annoyed at the accusation. “Some guy dropped it off, made me sign for it about ten minutes ago. Didn’t get a good look at his face, but he had some creepy ass blue eyes. I remember that much.

Sarah’s anxiety started clawing at her and she bit her lower lip, rubbing her neck where it met her shoulder, trying to think. Something about this call was setting off her instincts. A mysterious package arriving at her brother’s apartment in the middle of the night, addressed to her, from her grandmother? It was too late at night to deal with this, right now. She didn’t have the energy and she knew it.

A sigh escaped her and she pushed her hand through her hair, thinking. “Alright. I’ll come by and pick it up around noon tomorrow.”

“You going to use that weird doorway trick, again?”

“If I’m picking up something sent by Rhiannon, caution and speed are warranted, Toby. It’s the safest way to travel, and until I know what it is, we should treat it like a box full of anthrax.”

“Yikes. Alright, Sarah. Just don’t use the wall across from the front door. My TV is on that one.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, her tone dry. She knew he said that because he could hear the pinch of anxiety in her tone. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Toby.”

“G’night, Sare.”

She hung up the phone, set it back on the charge and stared at it for a long moment. A frown was still pulling at her lips. It was hard to not feel unsettled, right then. Getting a package from her dead grandmother, addressed to her brother, in the middle of the night? That was just the sort of coincidence combo that would set her teeth on edge.

She thought for a moment about calling Jareth to come to her, but she nixed that idea after a moment. He had his own work to do. Besides, he’d taught her how to get to sleep when she was stressed out of her mind. After their adventure last summer, he’d taken exception to her inability to sleep when stressed or frightened.

Laying down, she closed her eyes and forced herself to relax on the bed. Deep breaths, counting the beats of her heart, focusing on her physical being in order to cause a relaxed state. She felt the tightness in her shoulders ease, her exhaustion slowly sweep over her.

Whenever he showed up, she’d talk to him about this all, then. If he came by, tonight.  
She took a long moment to really, sincerely hope that he would. She wasn’t certain when, but she drifted off into a deep sleep.

One second she was asleep on her futon in her New York apartment. The next, she was standing on the balcony in the Castle Beyond the Goblin City. Below her, the Labyrinth stretched out in all directions, almost blue in the moonlight. They were high up, she could tell that much. She didn’t recognize the room behind her, it wasn’t well lit enough for her to see where she was in the castle. It was silent, and so very still that it set her teeth on edge.

Turning, she saw Jareth standing on that balcony with her and she walked towards him with caution. He was staring up at the night sky, the moon making his beautiful silvery-blond hair shine brighter. He wasn’t moving, just standing here, relaxed, and staring up at the sky. She could see his shoulders moving with his breaths, but that was the only sign of life, anywhere. 

Something about that, in particular, unnerved her, too.

“Jareth?” She forced a smile, moving around him in the silver light, until she was facing him. When she did, she felt horror creeping up her spine.

Jareth was staring up at the sky, his pose and demeanor relaxed and at peace. His face, however, was anything but. She could see lines of stress and fear on his face. His pupils were blown wide, and he seemed to be trembling. She could see the muscle in his jaw clenched tight. It looked, for a moment, like he was trying to tell her something, but he couldn’t seem to actually speak enough to get the words out.

“Jareth,” she whispered, grabbing his shirt in both hands, and giving him a shake. “Jareth what’s wrong?!”

Even compelling him to answer didn’t snap whatever sort of trance he was in. He simply stood there, and then, his expression changed. One of struggle, to one of placid peace.

“The moon is so beautiful tonight,” he said, not sounding like himself, at all. His hands gripped her arms, and he started turning her to face it. “Look!”

Sarah woke with a start, drenched in sweat. The bed beside her was empty, and she got to her feet, pacing the floor of the apartment, trying to find the peace and relaxation she’d had moments before, when she’d forced herself to fall asleep.

What the actual fuck, she wondered, before going into the kitchen and pouring herself a shot from her bottle of vodka, drinking it down without a second thought. She wasn’t certain what was going on, but she knew she needed to talk to Jareth as soon as possible. She didn’t want to think that he was in danger, but right then, it was hard not to.

Rather than go back to bed, she grabbed her blankets, wrapped up in them, and got out one of her newer books on doorways, seeing if she could find one suitable for her purposes. She wasn’t certain she’d need it, but it was better to be safe than sorry.


	2. Chapter 2

At some point during the hours before dawn, Sarah dozed off in her chair. This time, she was spared the freaky dreams. It was a relief, but that relief quickly changed to worry when she looked around her apartment. Jareth still wasn’t there, and it didn’t look like he’d shown up at some point during the night, either. If he had, she knew he’d have tucked her into bed with him.

She turned around in her living space, trying to not dwell on her worries. He’d told her before, they wouldn’t know if her dreams were prophetic until they bit them in the ass. So dwelling on it and worrying about it wouldn’t do her any good. Taking a steadying breath, she grabbed a piece of paper and pen and wrote him a brief note, detailing her plans for the day, in case he showed up while she wasn’t there. She was careful to note that she needed to speak with him before she signed off on it.

She knew his absence shouldn’t trouble her as much as it was, right then. Sometimes, things just went like this. He was a king, and he had plenty of responsibilities in his realm that didn’t involve her. She’d always tried to not bother him when he was dealing with “king things”. She knew once things calmed down he’d come to her, again. They would get back to the business of them, at that point.

She knew the only real reason she was freaking out right now was because of that stupid dream.

It took her a few minutes to collect herself, to force herself to stop worrying and go about her day as usual. So she took her paper and went downstairs to get herself a cup of coffee and a fresh donut, and spent the morning checking the list of casting calls tucked in the pages. She spent most of her mornings doing this, looking for parts in local plays, even if they paid peanuts, because she enjoyed acting. When her coffee and donut were finished, she went back upstairs.

She started prepping for the rest of her day, hopping in her shower and brushing her teeth. After bathing, while running a comb through her hair, she checked her phone, finding a text message from her brother.

The gf’s out for the day, if you want to come get the package.

That reminded her of the call she’d gotten from him the night before, before her dreams had taken the turn for the disturbing. She wondered if that call wasn’t part of the reason her dreams had been so disturbed, but she was glad that her brother understood her inability to remember things like that. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and picked up a pair of nondescript reading glasses from her coffee table.

The glasses had thick, black frames, and looked like a stereotype for nerds to wear. They were mostly decorative, since her vision wasn’t suffering, the lenses weren’t prescription. But the thickness of the frames served her needs just right. The insides of the black plastic was etched with glyphs she’d found in one of her grandmother’s books. They let her look at magical creatures and objects without getting ensnared through her eyes. That was damn useful considering how many creatures seemed to think that was the best way of doing business.

Jareth had seen them after she’d finished them and asked about them. So, she’d shown him what she’d done to them, afraid it was going to make her lover laugh at her. Instead, he’d given her a look of fierce pride before kissing her senseless. That was the only discussion they’d ever had about the glasses. She had a few pairs, as backups, in case one pair broke or got damaged. 

She shook herself from the distracting memory of how that kiss had ended up in her bed, a grin pulling at her lips. Then, she turned her attention to the walls of her apartment. She knew exactly what she was looking for, and found it in a shimmering light that seemed to cling to the one behind her TV.

Pushing her TV stand out of the way, she traced her fingers along the wall for a moment. Then, she slid the glasses down the bridge of her nose, getting an uninhibited look at the magic clinging to her apartment wall. She could feel the pulse of it, strong and vital, and she gave a nod.

This wall, then.

The single drawer in her kitchen was her next stop. She pulled a piece of chalk and a small crystal knob that she’d made from one of the magic crystals Jareth had given her to practice with. She’d received it some time ago, when she was first learning how to channel her power. It was small, like the pulls on cabinets, but it was a little bit of faerie magic to use however she wanted. She wasn’t certain he would appreciate that she had chosen to use it as a doorknob, but it worked better than human ones. They could work, but sometimes the metal got stuck to the wall if there was iron in the materials.

The crystal, however, would just cling to the wall until she returned and when she pulled the door shut, it would release from the door, and the door would seal up as if it had never existed to begin with.

Returning to that shimmering section of wall, she pushed her glasses back up her nose and took a deep breath, drawing an image of a door opening into her brother’s living room. Not the wall with the TV on it, he’d said. So she took the next wall over. There was some space between his windows that would work. Once she had that image clear, she set the chalk against the baseboard, drawing a single line up the wall, across, and then back down, not removing the chalk from the surface until it met with the start of the line.

When she straightened, she set the crystal against a faint impression in the wall that hadn’t existed before she’d drawn that line. Holding that image of where she was going in her mind, she knocked three times, and a crack formed in the line of chalk, all the way around it. Turning the knob, it swung forward into her brother’s apartment.

Toby Williams was sitting on his couch, waiting for her arrival. At twenty two, he’d grown into a handsome young man. His blond hair had darkened to a sandy brown, and his blue eyes sparkled with the same mischief she’d always seen there when he was a boy. She wasn’t entirely certain that he wasn’t at least part goblin after his time in the Labyrinth.

The apartment was bigger than hers, but he’d also gone straight from law school into a lucrative position at their father’s law firm upon graduating. Unlike her, he’d “made something of himself”. Toby didn’t really seem sure what his father thought that something he’d made of himself was, but the income from the job allowed him the freedom to live independently and rather well.

She’d never begrudged her brother his success - he’d put in the work for the job he’d gotten. Their father wouldn’t have given him the position if he wasn’t capable and passionate about the job. She was glad that he was able to live so comfortably, and that the job seemed to suit him, even if it was the polar opposite of what she’d done.

When he saw her, he gave her a wide smile and got to his feet. She grinned back at her younger brother, walking up and hugging him tight. He was tall, taller than her by a fair bit and had been for years. He’d hit six foot in high school and was strong enough to lift her off her feet when she hugged him. She drew back and gave him a light thump on the shoulder.

“How are you doing, squirt?” She asked, looking up at him, searching for any sign of a mark left on him by the Labyrinth - something she’d been unable to stop doing since she discovered she could actually see faerie magic clinging to people.

“Who are you calling squirt, old lady?” He asked, ducking her next punch, then nudging her with his elbow. “I’ve been taller than you for at least five years.”

She gave him a grin and a nudge back. After a moment, his face grew serious, and she wondered if he noticed the dark circles under her eyes from how poorly she’d slept the night before.

“Are you doing okay?”

“Always,” she lied, noting that he’d dodged her own question. Sometimes, that was answer enough, especially with him. “So, where’s this mysterious box I got from Grandmammy Rhi?”

He gestured with his head for her to follow him and headed towards the console table by his front door. The package wasn’t large, but when he hefted it up, she saw that it had some weight. That was confirmed when he set it in her hands. He was looking at the box, and she watched as he took a deep breath.

“I hope you’re opening it here. When I got off the phone with you, last night, I developed a pathological case of curiosity.”

With a chuckle, she set the box on his coffee table and fished out her pocket knife. Before opening it, she considered the box. It definitely had the address for her grandmother’s cabin, sent to her brother’s address, with her name at the top of it. That told her enough to be wary.

She cut the tape with care, not wanting to damage whatever might be hiding within. Once that was done, she folded the knife and stuck it back in her pocket. Before she opened the top, she looked up at her brother, hesitating.

“For safety’s sake, turn around until I’ve verified that this is a safe object,” she said, looking him in the eyes, making sure he understood that she was serious. She’d learned well enough in the last year to handle all magical objects - or potentially magical objects - with great care. She wasn’t going to risk her brother with carelessness.

He raised his hands in a surrender gesture and once his back was turned towards her, she opened the box, pushing the glasses that had slipped down the bridge of her nose back up. Shifting the packing peanuts out of the way, she found an old mantle clock inside.

No, not old. Ancient.

It was well maintained, for sure. The hands were pale white, and thin, like bone china, the face bronze. The wooden frame was pale, and she lifted it, giving it a careful sniff. Ash wood, she thought, which gave her further pause. A perplexed frown pulled at her lips as she set the clock in her lap.

No magic seemed to be coming from the clock at all. It had potential for it, she could feel that much. She gave it a turn in her hands, examining every inch of the thing. Her brow furrowed deeply as a delicate script inscription caught her eyes. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was written in Latin.

Curiouser and curiouser, she thought, frowning, and lifting the clock again to look at the inscription around the clock face.

"Ad Extremum Terrae…?” she murmured, tracing her fingertips over the finely engraved script.

“So, is it safe?” Toby asked, still not turning around. A glance towards him found every muscle in him rigid with anticipation.

“I don’t know,” Sarah finally admitted, after a long moment of silently staring at it. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to be immediately volatile, so you can turn around. It should be safe, for now.”

“That doesn’t boost my confidence,” he said, but immediately turned. There was an expression close to disappointment on his face when he saw the clock in her lap. Joining her on the couch, he shook his head in confusion. “Cool clock, I guess?”

He didn’t understand, she realized, and she gave a soft shake of her head. Lifting the heavy thing, her frown pulled deeper. It was always like this with things Rhiannon had given to her. There would never be a real explanation - she was expected to figure out the use and meaning on her own. Much like with the pendant and map she’d been given right before her grandmother died.

The lock and key to the door that protected the four treasures of the Tuatha de Danann. Treasures that needed to be protected at all costs.

How to explain this fact to her brother, however? He believed her about so much, but he was still learning much about magic and the other realms.

“This is more complicated than that, Toby. If she’s sending this to me, it’s important, even if I don’t know why, yet. She never did anything without thinking it through first.” She stared down at the face of the clock, examining it closer to see if there was something she was missing. “I’ll need to look up the inscription when I get home. My Latin is really damn rusty.”

Her brother was silent, and he leaned towards the clock with her, squinting at it. “It’s not ticking. Do you think it’s broken?”

“Maybe,” she said, and shook her head again, trying to clear it. Getting to her feet, she brought the clock with her, and set it in the box with care. “I’ll ask my boyfriend if I see him, tonight.”

Hell, at this rate, she might just call him over, anyways. To make sure he was okay and help out with all this weird fuckery that was going on at the moment. She sighed, then noticed that there’d been a rather pregnant pause in the discussion ongoing since she’d mentioned Jareth. Glancing back at him, she found him grinning at her with all the mischief and mirth she’d expect from goblinkind.

“Do mom and dad know about him, yet?” He asked, lifting his brows.

“Of course not!” she snapped a bit, feeling the heat in her cheeks. “I haven’t figured out how to explain ‘I’m engaged to a literal faerie king’ to our parents, yet.”

“I believed you,” he pointed out, his grin slipping away as his expression turned puzzled.

“You’re also not Dad or Karen or my mom. I’m just not sure how to tell them,” she admitted, shaking her head. She took a deep breath, remembering the more immediate concerns. “Look, I’ll get back to you about this. When I said Grandmammy Rhi didn’t do things thoughtlessly, I mean it. So, if you were the first one to get this, then she wants you to be a part of whatever comes from it.”

“Goody,” he said, and his voice was rich with dry sarcasm. She wasn’t surprised, she’d told him about her adventure on the other side of the veil last summer.

Giving him a crooked sort of smile, she nodded her head. “It’ll be fun. I’ll call you when I find out more. Take care, Toby.”

“You too, Sare,” he answered back with a grin.

She went back to her still open doorway, and stepped through into her apartment, pulling the door closed behind her. The crystal dropped off into her hand, and she pocketed it before setting the box and clock onto her counter. Digging through the reference books she kept in her apartment, she found an old Latin to English dictionary she’d kept from her high school years. It wasn’t ideal for translating, but it should give her some idea what the inscription said.

As she straightened, she noticed that her note to Jareth was still on the fridge where she’d left it. Trying to ignore the sinking dread in her gut, she told herself he must still be busy.

Please let him just be busy.

To put that thought and the fears that were tangled with it out of her mind, she gave her focus to working on the translation. Flipping back and forth between the book and the inscription, she felt a frown pull hard on her mouth. Within a half hour, she had the words roughly translated.

“At the end of the earth?” She asked, sitting back in her chair. A frustrated sigh left her and she crumpled the paper into a ball, leaving it on the counter next to the clock.

That didn’t make any sense.

She jumped a bit when her phone went off and she grabbed it. A member of her troupe was on the line, telling her of a few parts that she might be interested in. They were mostly minor roles in plays over the next few weeks, but she wrote the details down. After that call was another, requesting a few amulets and poppets for a store she worked with to make some money on the side.

Before she knew it, the afternoon had bled into evening once again. She left the tv playing in the background, just enough background noise to help her relax and keep her focus off the fact that Jareth still hadn’t come to see her. That anxiety had been scratching at her, all day. She ate a small dinner, and laid down on the futon, watching reruns until she dozed off.

She didn’t dream, something that she was glad for, at this point. Last night had freaked her out badly enough without recurring dreams or sequels.

She wasn’t certain how long she’d been sleeping when a loud noise startled her awake. Her television was making an awful, jarring sound and she sat up, blinking at the screen through sleep blurred eyes. She could barely see what the alert said in her exhausted state. They happened now and then. Tests, usually, but sometimes they were for weather.

Adjusting the glasses on her face, she got to her feet. As she did, the alert stopped screaming. A heavy sigh escaped her and she shook herself to try to help her focus. If it was a weather thing, she knew what she needed to do. She closed the blinds of each window, wandering her apartment in the near dark. Sleep was still heavy in her eyes and she shifted the glasses just enough to scrub the grit from her eyes. She thought about pulling them off, but her instincts had screamed at her when she had, so she’d left them alone.

Returning to her bed, she found her phone and checked the time. A groan escaped her when she saw it was almost three in the morning. Her apartment was quiet now, except for the faint ticking of a clock. Stretching again, she pushed her hand through her hair, considering going back to sleep. But when she laid down, her nerves wouldn’t let her relax. Every tick of the clock was jarring, scratching over her anxiety.

With a frustrated sigh, she grabbed her phone, pulling it towards her. With bleary eyes, she checked her messages and the rest of her weariness disappeared in place of shock.

Why the fuck did she have three hundred new text messages? Had her brother been blowing up her phone, tonight?

Before she could delve properly into that new mystery, her television started broadcasting that awful alert noise, again. She glared at it with a deep frown and noticed for the first time that the screen was wrong. The normal alert screen was rainbow stripes. While the sound was the same obnoxious, ear-splitting shit, the screen was black with plain white text flashing at her from the screen.

Stay indoors and away from your windows. Do not look at the moon.


	3. Chapter 3

What the actual fuck?

Shaking her head, Sarah turned the television off, then back on. The screen started up with late night reruns of I Love Lucy for a moment, and then the alert started up again, the screen going black except for that strange message flashing at her. She adjusted the glasses that rested on her nose and got to her feet, her brow furrowing with temper. Walking to the kitchen drawer, she dug through it.

Besides the chalk she’d gotten out of there earlier, and the crystal doorknob, there were a few other useful items in it. Most people would look in and see nothing more than a standard junk drawer, but she kept these items close at hand for good reasons, and none of those reasons were mundane. Industrial zip strips, a few unused candles, a waiter key, a few pens of different varieties, pads of paper of different widths and lengths, and a silver compact.

Her hands found the cool circumference of the compact that was tucked towards the back and she pulled it out, rubbing her thumb against the release. Once it opened, she dumped the mirror surface into the palm of her hand, checking the glyph she’d drawn on the back in paint marker. Once she confirmed that the markings didn’t have any smudges and that the mirror was safe to use, she moved back towards the window, putting her back to it. Reaching back, she drew the blinds until it was open wide.

With care, she lifted the mirror, until she could see out her window with it, using it to check the reflection of the moon from over her shoulder. She felt the tightness in her expression as she worked, shifting herself until she could see it clearly.

As the moon came into view on the mirror’s surface, she saw the shimmer of magic in the air. A part of her wanted to take the glasses off, to get a better, uninhibited look at whatever the magic she saw was, but at this point, she knew better. She’d learned well enough the year before to not look at potential hazards directly, if she didn’t want to end up spellbound. So, instead, she closed her eyes, closed the compact and using the cord behind her, she drew the blinds shut once again.

Once her apartment was safe, she took the glasses off, a shudder working its way through her. Her instincts hadn’t been wrong. Something had been going to happen. Something was very wrong with the moon, and she didn’t know what.

The moon usually had some shimmer of magic around it. Too much earth magic relied on the moon’s cycle for there to not be some residue lingering around it. The push and pull had been done for centuries, here, and while it was less common, now, it still happened. However, this wasn’t the usual amount she saw. This was around two or three times what she’d come to expect to see during a sabbat or an eclipse. 

Her TV was still flashing that cryptic message on its surface and she took a steadying breath.

She’d been through too much, in the last year, to believe this much concurrent bullshit all at once to be mere coincidence. A freaky dream about her lover, last night. One that had him somehow hypnotised by the moon, trying to force her to look at it. A posthumous delivery from her grandmother. The clock was made of ash and brass and what looked like bone with an inscription about the end of the earth. Sent to her brother rather than straight to her. Dreams of nights without end, a world of never ending darkness.

Now, this cryptic alert.

Every single instinct was telling her that this was the perfect time to panic, but over that was a louder thought, one that was spurred by her curious nature.

What the actual fuck was going on?

Her phone started buzzing uncontrollably, and she grabbed it, again, finding that she’d been flooded with texts. Another mystery to add to the rest of the ones around her, now. Most of them were from unfamiliar numbers, ones without names attached, unfamiliar. Like spam e-mails in her inbox. Each text message bore a variant of the same message. Most of them, she ignored, scrolling through, trying to ignore the gnawing worry in her gut as more and more seemed to pile into her phone.

Look at the moon! It’s so beautiful, tonight!

As he scrolled, her brother’s number flashed between the others and she stopped, staring at the number and the message beneath it. Fear twisted her gut and for a long moment she thought she was going to throw up. Once she had that urge under control, she called the number, listening to it ring.

As it rang, she paced the floor, biting her knuckle. 

“Come on, Toby. Pick up,” she muttered under her breath, trying to not panic. “Pick up the damn phone.” 

The line connected, and she heard her brother’s sleep rusted voice on the line.

“What the fuck, Sarah? Do you know what time it is?”

She gave a moan of relief, collapsing onto her couch. Her leg bounced with her agitation and she curled a hand into her hair. She took a deep breath, trying to think of how to start.

“Toby, for the next few minutes, I need you to shut up and listen. Don’t ask questions. Don’t go outside and do not look at the moon. No matter what text messages you get, just fucking don’t. Just close your eyes and stay there until I get there. Call mom and dad, see if you can reach them and tell them the same thing. Is Bunny with you?”

“She’s at work -”

“Okay, call her first. Tell her to find a place where she can’t see outside. We’ll try to get her, too.” She felt a shiver work through her body and she tried to push her thoughts away. “Something is going on, right now, and it’s magical in origin. The moon is tied up in it, so -”

“Sarah, slow down. What the fuck -”

“I’ve been asking myself that for about an hour, Toby. I don’t have any answers, yet. Please, just do what I said.”

He went quiet on the other end for a long moment and she heard his breathing was ragged. “Okay, Sarah.”

She hung up the phone and pushed it into the pocket of her jeans, pushing her hair into a ponytail and grabbing the chalk from where she’d left it, before. Turning, she looked at the walls of her apartment, again, eyeing them critically and trying to focus on one thing at a time. She had to handle the things she could deal with first. That meant saving Toby before he ended up ensnared.

The wall she’d used earlier still had the faintest outline of chalk on it. There was still a faint shimmer to it, so she decided she’d use that one again. She drew the line darker, and jabbed the crystal knob at the impression in the wall. Knocking three times, she focused on her brother’s apartment as hard as she could, and threw the knob, opening the door into her brother’s hallway, this time.

He was wrestling someone she didn’t recognize on the ground, and the person was getting the better of him.

“Knock it the fuck off! I’m not going outside!”

That told her all she needed to know about how to handle the situation.

“You need to look! Everyone needs to look! The moon is so beautiful, come outside!” The girl clawing at her brother and trying to drag him looked unhinged.

Sarah grabbed the woman by her shoulder and the woman spun towards her, clawing at her, next. Sarah squared herself off against her, lifted a hand and punched her in the face as hard as she could.

The woman stood there for a moment, wobbled, and then fell on the ground.

She looked down at her for a long moment, watching as the unconscious woman continued inching towards the living room windows. That was a strong fucking compulsion spell, Sarah noted, and felt a shiver race through her.

“What the fuck is going on?!” Toby asked, scrambling to his feet.

She didn’t have the answer to that, yet. She looked at him, however, and took a deep breath. “Did you call mom and dad?”

“They’re not picking up,” he said, shaking his head. “Bunny is hiding in the toilet at work. I wish I’d warned her to avoid her coworkers.”

“Do you have anything here that you can use to defend yourself, because I have a feeling we’ll need it,” she asked, feeling her hands shaking as she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed their parents number. Like he’d said, it just rang ceaselessly, and she eventually hung up and tried calling her mother. Again, no answer.

“I’ve got a decorative ninja sword, but -”

“I mean real defense. Baseball bats, PVC pipe, something hard with reach but won’t kill someone.” When he shook his head, she sighed. “Okay, let’s get out of here before crazy wakes up. We’re going to have to assume that our parents are caught by whatever the fuck is going on. That’s something we’ll have to deal with later.”

All they could do now was hope for the best, because this shit wasn’t something she knew how to deal with. She’d never heard of anything like this.

“Sarah, what is going on?!”

She closed her eyes, shaking her head. Taking a steadying breath, she turned towards her brother, trying to contain her fear. “I don’t know, Toby. For now, let’s get to my apartment. It’s safe there.”

For now, at least.

They both went through the door into her smaller apartment and Toby closed it behind them, looking at her. She took the crystal knob from him as it fell off in his hand.

The only sound in her apartment was the soft ticking of a clock. She’d registered that noise when she’d woken up, initially. But between the panic set off by the mysterious alert on her television and her worries about making sure her brother was safe, she hadn’t thought about it. She’d been too busy dealing with everything else.

Now, however, that sound seemed strange to her. It wasn’t a typical sound she had in her apartment and she saw her brother staring at the counter she’d left the clock sitting on.

“Sarah,” Toby whispered, shock on his face. “Was that thing ticking, earlier?”

“What?” She turned to look where he was staring.

“The clock is moving.” He sounded somewhat weak with nerves, and she saw his hand shaking as he lifted it to point at the mantle clock on her counter.

She faced it fully, not liking that he was right. When she’d gone to bed, that thing had been silent. It hadn’t been moving, the time-keeping mechanism seeming dead. Her breath caught and she moved towards it. She felt the pinch in her brows as she picked it up and lifting it to her face.

“What the actual fuck?”

Twenty four hours on the face, but instead of moving forward, the hands seemed to be ticking backwards. One hour of the time had already been eaten. She turned it over in her hands, lifting it to her ear, just to be sure she wasn’t going crazy. Sometime during the night, the clock had started ticking. A clock that had been delivered to her brother, but was intended for her.

An engraving around the face that said Ad Extremum Terrea. At the end of the earth.

“Fuck,” she whispered, turning the clock and staring at it in horror. “Fuck. The end of the world. That’s what it said. I can’t believe I was so stupid. It says the end of the world.”

Counting backwards from twenty four to zero.

She and her brother seemed to understand the meaning simultaneously, because they both collapsed into the chairs tucked by her small dining table. She set the clock down on the table with extreme care. Not volatile on its own, but carrying a message that was bigger than anything she’d ever dealt with.

After a moment, she got to her feet, walking to the drawer, pulling out a spare set of glasses, and handing a pair of them to her brother. “Put these on. I’m not sure how effective they’ll be against direct moonlight, right now. But unfortunately they’re still the best defense we’ve got from whatever is going on, right now.

What she wanted was to down half a bottle of vodka, but right now wasn’t necessarily the best time for that. She needed to look at the situation sober, first. Setting her phone on the table, she saw that it had still been receiving text messages in the time it had taken her to get her brother here. “How did that woman get into your apartment, anyways?”

“I think I forgot to lock the door. It’s not like that’s been a problem in that building, you know? The door man never lets anyone in - you know that, it’s why you use the doorways.” He pushed a hand through his hair, looking agitated. “So, now what?”

She took a steadying breath, and closed her eyes, trying to think. Two people against the end of the world. Those weren’t odds she liked. Especially since the look on that woman’s face had reminded her of Jareth from her dream. Her words had been similar, too.

No. She didn’t want to think about that. She couldn’t. She didn’t want to consider that even Jareth couldn’t keep himself from getting caught by that magic.

“How far do you think it’s spread?” Toby wondered out loud, heaving a sigh. “How can we know?”

“If I have to guess, I’d say everywhere.” She said, shaking her head and trying to smother the fear that was choking her. “But I can’t know for sure. I’d suggest we check the news, but I’m not sure if footage of the moon would be as bad as directly looking. When I checked it earlier, I didn’t dare without a protected mirror, and my glasses on. I don’t want to risk the two of us getting caught up in whatever this magic is.”

“This is beyond us, Sarah,” he said, his voice quiet and tense. “We’re going to need help.”

They were going to need Jareth. That’s what he was saying, though he didn’t word it like that. She was afraid to ask Jareth for help, because she didn’t want to confirm her worst fears. She wasn’t certain what she was going to do if Jareth was already caught in the magic. After a moment, however, she decided she couldn’t put off finding out any longer. “I’ll see if I can reach him.”

Pushing herself to her feet, she took a steadying breath, heading towards her bathroom. The mirror over the sink was the only other one in the apartment, and she used it to “call” the Underground. She could reach anyone she knew the name of from it, similarly to how her doorways worked. Knock gently on the glass and call their name, and they’d show on the surface of the mirror. They could see and hear her, and she could see and hear them.

Facing the glass, she lifted her hand, hesitating for a moment. Biting her lip as hard as she could, she rapped the surface, and watched it ripple under her knuckles. Closing her eyes to steady herself, she took a deep breath.

“Hoggle, I need you.”

When she opened her eyes, the connection had been made and she saw her oldest friend from the Labyrinth standing there. He looked like he was at the outer wall of the structure, standing perfectly still in the darkness. As she adjusted to the lighting, she saw he held the fairy sprayer loose in his grip, and his face was upturned towards the sky. His expression was one of peace and awe.

“Hoggle…?” She whispered, shaking her head.

He didn’t turn to look at her, just staring up at the moon.

No. Please, no. Let it have been a dream.

Shaking her head, she slapped her hand against the glass, flat, and her own terrified face was reflected in the glass. Curling her fist, again, she knocked again and closed her eyes.

“Sir Didymus?”

When she opened her eyes, the scene was no different. He was mounted on Ambrosius, their eyes lifted to the sky. It looked like they were near the bog of eternal stench. She shook her head, feeling tears piercing her eyes. She slapped her hand on the glass to clear it, again, and tried again and again, calling on everyone she knew from the Labyrinth, including Mr. Worm. All of them except one, because she didn’t want to confirm her greatest fear.

However, everyone she knew was in that same state, eyes lifted to the sky, staring at the moon. In the end, there was only one name she hadn’t tried, and tears filled her eyes as she rapped the glass, her breath sobbing out of her. She closed her eyes, trying to steady herself.

“Jareth.”

Please, be alright, please let it have just been a bad dream.

When she opened her eyes, this time, the view was familiar. Familiar enough to cause a wave of deja vu to wash through her, almost making her knees give out.

No. Please, no.

She shook her head, both hands flying to cover her mouth to hold in the moan of upset that escaped her. Her king, her lover, standing on that balcony, bathed in moonlight. He stared up at it with a look of peace and tranquility on his face. Tears spilled down her cheeks and she shook her head, backing away from the glass as if to deny the truth that she saw there.

As she stared, however, the view started to shift away from her lover. It was as if magic was turning the mirror and she realized that it was turning towards the moon. Something was trying to force her to look at the moon. Without a second thought, she lifted her hand, slapping it against the glass and breaking the connection.

Her reflection in the glass was barely recognizable. Her face was stained with tears, but from beneath the grief was something else. A rage that she hadn’t felt before. Her hands shook as she curled them into fists and glared at the mirror. Then, she lifted her hand and slammed it into the glass so hard it broke.

No one hurt her lover like this and got away with it. No one.


	4. Chapter 4

When Sarah slammed out of her bathroom, Toby jumped to his feet, startled. He watched her as she strode across the room, standing in the middle of the floor, her entire body trembling with fury and fear and frustration so deep that she could feel it pulsing in her blood.

The rage had cleared her mind, given her a direction.

“Sarah, what’s going on?” her brother asked, not getting too close to her. She figured he probably recognized the level of temper that was riding her right then, so it was probably a good decision. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself, to not lash out in her temper at her brother, who was just as worried and afraid.

“It’s widespread,” she said, her voice tight. “So widespread in fact that it’s affecting the Underground.”

Understanding dawned on his face and he stepped towards her. “Sarah -”

She turned away from him, not speaking for a long moment. She found the book on doorways that she’d been studying the night before, flipping through the pages she’d dog-eared in order to mark them for later use. She was making a rash decision and she knew it would piss her lover off, but she wasn’t just going to let him be trapped by whatever this malicious magic was.

“Sarah,” Toby said again, his voice quiet.

She slammed the book shut, taking a steadying breath. She had to focus on the anger because if she thought too hard about what she was going to do or what had happened to her lover, she was going to snap. “It’s got everyone I know in the Labyrinth. Yes, including Jareth.”

“What are you going to do?” He was as quiet as he’d been before, his hand grabbing her arm, holding it tight. That was the question, wasn’t it. What was she going to do? She closed her eyes, and when she’d opened them, she’d narrowed down her choices to the only one that made sense right then.

“I’m going to rescue him,” she said, ignoring the tremor in her voice. “The doorways I use to get to your apartment and my cabin aren’t going to work for this, though. They’re not strong enough, not even with aid of residual faerie magic. I need something different.”

The concern in his expression was justified. She was dabbling in magic that wasn’t typically considered ‘safe’. Jareth would be throwing a shit fit if he knew what she was planning.

“Don’t say anything, Toby. I know better than you do how stupid this is. He’ll be fucking furious for me even considering doing this, never mind actually doing it.” She pushed a hand through her hair, trying to calm herself. “I’m going to need chicken blood, salt, five candles, and the bottle of vodka from the freezer.”

“Vodka?” Her brother blinked, looking at her with a confused expression. “For the spell?”

“No,” she admitted, ignoring the trembling of her hands as she braced them on the table. “That’s just to make me feel better about ripping a hole through the veil.”

She pushed away from the table, and gestured for Toby to start clearing her floor. There was a faint chalk circle under her area rug. She got her vodka first, pouring several fingers in a glass tumbler, pouring it down her throat to fuzz her nerves. While she was there, she pulled the chicken blood from her fridge and the salt from her cabinet beside it. The candles were buried in the drawer she kept most of her useful items in.

She cracked the book, rereading the spell she was going to use, and started carving the glyphs into the bases of the candles before fitting them into the cheap holders. It wouldn’t do if her rash decision caused her apartment to burn down, she thought. She took another swig of the vodka, this time straight from the bottle, and rocked her head back and forth to crack her neck. Then, she focused on the spell, drawing a line with the salt to keep whatever might try to piggy back in behind her from getting loose. A second circle after the first, and then a star inside that. A candle at each point, and then she dipped her fingers in the blood. Ignoring her brother’s theatric shudder, she started drawing the glyphs in the circle with the blood.

Normally, she’d never consider doing a circle like this drunk, but considering she was literally punching a hole through the veil between two words in the most forceful way possible, she needed the alcohol to focus on why she was doing it, rather than what she was doing. One mistake and she could end up in a very bad place she really didn’t want to be and she knew it.

Once the glyphs were finished, she walked around the circle, lighting the candles.

“Sarah, is this safe?” Toby asked, his voice quiet, and he grabbed her arm as she lit the last candle.

She took a steadying breath, looking at him for a long moment. Safe? Was anything she ever did safe?

“Probably not,” she admitted. “But I don’t have any other way to get there if Jareth doesn’t take me with him. The dirty cheat took my whistle so I wouldn’t pop back and forth across the veil. I can’t just leave him, though. Even if he’ll be furious with me for this. Even if he’ll yell at me. I have to try to reach him.”

Her brother searched her eyes for a long moment and then nodded his head in understanding. “Alright, then. What do you need me to do?”

Relief poured through her that he wasn’t going to fight her on this. He probably didn’t realize how dangerous this actually was. She took a deep breath and nodded her head. “After I get through, close the door behind me. Snuff the candles, starting with this one. Clean up the circle once they’re out. Whatever you do, don’t try to wait until I come back through. I can’t promise something won’t try to come through from the other side after I go. If I save Jareth, he’ll get me back here. If not…”

Something she shouldn’t think about before making a jump like this. She swallowed hard, biting her lower lip.

“Let’s not worry about that, just yet.”

Toby looked mortified by that answer. He shook his head, staring at her. “Sarah, I don’t have words to express how much I don’t like this.”

“Neither would Jareth,” she admitted. She reached out and wrapped her younger brother in a tight hug, trying to steady herself. “But I have to do something. I can’t do this on my own.”

This whole situation was too big.

He gave her a tight hug, back, then stepped back, nodding his head. “If you don’t come back, I’m going to be seriously pissed off. Keep that in mind.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” she asked, giving a nervous laugh, as she stepped into the center of the circle, crouching against the wood, and holding her hands braced against the floor. 

“Do you really want me to answer that question? We’re talking the literal end of the world, Sarah.”

She knew that. But she pushed that thought from her mind for the moment, focusing on the current problem. She pulled a picture of the balcony she’d seen Jareth standing on to her mind, focusing on that image. She curled her hands and lifted them above the floor, slowly. Then, opening her hands, she slapped them down on the floor at the center of the circle, beside her feet.

The floor beneath her turned to liquid and she plunged into darkness, holding her breath and keeping her focus on that balcony, of her lover, and his lands. Her landing was hard, her knees scraping on the stone ground. She gave herself a moment to pray before she opened her eyes, looking around her.

She’d managed to land on a stone balcony, at very least, she noted. Lifting her head with caution, she found herself kneeling feet away from her lover, exactly where she’d meant to land. A shaky sigh escaped her as she saw his leather boots, first. She saw his leather boots first, and she started scooting across the stones towards him.

“ _Sarah, you shouldn’t have come here,_ ” said a voice in her head that she recognized as Jareth’s. She went still for a moment, taking a deep breath. Apparently he wasn’t as far gone as she’d initially thought. “ _It’s already got me, you need to go._ ”

She got up onto her hands and knees, baring her teeth at the backs of his legs. This damned idiot. How the hell could he expect her to do that?

“I’m not leaving you,” she growled. “You can’t seriously think I would go.”

“ _I can’t break this magic. I’ve been trying for a long time. You aren’t going to be able to save me from this. Go home._ ”

She finally reached him, and got to her feet, keeping her movements slow and controlled as she faced him. She looked him in the eyes, finding that placid expression on his face. She felt tears on her cheeks and she grabbed him by the arms, giving him a rough shake, glaring at him.

“You know I can’t do that,” she said, biting her lower lip as hard as she could. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

There was a twitch in his brow, the first change in expression she’d seen from him. So she squared off against him, and gave him a hard push, trying to force him towards the open door to the room that was just off of it. He didn’t budge, and his expression was back to that irritating and frightening one of peace.

Frustrated, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking a moment to think about what she could do. He’d told her ages ago that pain could startle someone out of a spellbinding. She’d used that trick to break out of one before, when she didn’t have glasses to keep her from being ensnared through her eyes.

“I’m really, really sorry about what I’m about to do, Jareth,” she said, her voice quiet and a bit annoyed. Then, she brought her knee up as hard as she could between his thighs.

She saw a flash of shock and pain in his eyes as she kneed him in the balls, and his hands immediately went to guard the now wounded area. She hooked her arms under his shoulders and started dragging him to the doorway beside them. Once they were inside, she pushed the door shut and locked it, leaving her lover curled up on the floor on his side as she started pulling the curtains shut. Even with her glasses for protection, she avoided looking at the moon.

Once the last one was closed, she went around, lighting candles in the room to give her some lighting, and keep an eye on the goblin king. She’d never been more glad that there was such a vast difference in time between the Above and the Underground. She wasn’t certain how long it would take to snap Jareth out of whatever this was. Once the room was bright enough to see, she noticed it was still too quiet for her.

Turning, she found Jareth standing, again, his placid expression gone. Now there was a strange anxiety and he immediately headed towards one of the windows. He walked with a bit of a limp, and that slowed him enough that she was able to intercept him. He kept trying to go around her and she wrapped her arms around his waist, struggling to hold him still.

“Dammit, Jareth, if you don’t put up some fucking fight, you never get to give me shit about next summer again!” she snarled at him, and she knocked him to the ground, sitting astride his waist to hold him there. He tried to roll away and she curled her hands into his starlight hair, glaring at him. “I’m not going to let that thing have you!”

Then, she leaned down, kissing him as hard as she could on the lips, trying to give him whatever of her own will that she could. At first, he kept struggling, as though trying to get away, and then, he stilled. She drew back and looked down into his eyes for a moment.

The placid calm had given way to intense frustration. It was the look she’d seen on his face during her dream when he was still fighting the magic that was trying to take him. Her chest heaved and she felt a sob burst out of her. She wasn’t certain why he seemed to be snapping out of it, now, but she hoped that she was helping. She slid her hands from his beautiful hair and cupped his face between them, searching his eyes. Then, she leaned down, kissing him again, hard and deep.

Part of why she kissed him was because she was so goddamn glad to see that there was still some fight inside of him. But she was still terrified that she’d lose him to that damn thing if she stopped. It didn’t make sense, and there was no logical or magical reason that this should work, but she’d kiss him until he either snapped out of it, or until they both passed out from oxygen deprivation.

Whichever came first.

One of his hands came up to her face, and she opened her eyes, not drawing away from the kiss, finding a furrowed brow, and temper in his gaze. When their gazes met, he gave a quiet snarl, and she found their position reversed. He leaned over her, temper and pain and exhaustion on his face. When he broke the kiss to speak, there was a snarl in his voice.

“Did you kick me in the balls, precious?” 

The temper didn’t scare her, she was too relieved to see that he was himself again. She lifted her hand, brushing her fingers at the corner of his eyes. Her heart clenched so hard in her chest she ached, and she pushed her hands back into his hair again, using a hard grip to haul his mouth back to hers, kissing him hard. He kissed her back, and she felt a gloved hand brushing her tears from her cheeks. A sob left her as their kiss ended, and she shifted, rolling him to the ground beneath her, again.

“Not my fault you wouldn’t listen to reason,” she told him, breathless from relief and their kiss.

His breath left him in a rush and he gave her a grin that was a little shaky. “Consider it payback for you consistently scaring the gizzard out of me, Sarah.”

She searched his eyes, and gave a weak laugh, leaning down and kissing him desperately. His arms went up around her, and she felt him pull at the tshirt she was wearing. She had the briefest moment to wonder if jumping him right now was a good idea. The world was ending, she had limited time. But here, they had more time than they’d have above. So she sat up, pulling her shirt off, and tossing it into the room, leaning down and kissing him with wild desperation.

He rolled them again, and pulled his shirt off, tossing the shirt and gloves into a dark corner of his room before his hands delved into her hair, and he kissed her the same way as she kissed him. She squirmed out of her pants, and impatiently shoved at his, trying to not think or wonder if this was the last chance they’d have to be together. He pressed between her thighs and she gave a cry of pleasure when he filled her in one stroke, his lips raining kisses on her throat.

It was fast, messy, and she got loud without shame or care. The whole thing was fueled by fear and relief and she came hard as he did, enjoying the sharpness of his teeth at her shoulder as he bit down in the throws of passion. Afterwards, they lay quietly panting on his floor, and she clung to him, trembling from the force of her feelings.

After a moment, she shivered from the chill of the stone floor that she hadn’t noticed a minute before. He withdrew from her and they both gave a groan of disappointment. He shifted, pulling her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her tight, his face pressed against her neck. She could feel the faint tremor in him and she stroked her fingers through his starlight hair.

“Why did you come here, precious?” he asked, his hands curled into fists against her back. “This was a stupid and reckless thing to do.”

“You should have told me something was wrong, here,” she whispered back, angry with him for not telling her.

“You’d have wanted to come and help,” he said, shaking his head, and giving her a squeeze. “It was too dangerous.”

She closed her eyes tight, clinging to him for a long moment, her brow furrowing in frustration. He was right, but that didn’t excuse it. “Jareth, it’s happening above, now.”

He went completely still and drew away from her, looking into her eyes. When she opened her eyes and looked at him, she saw his face was pale, even for him.

“How bad is it?” he asked, his voice rough with worries, now. She took a steadying breath and bit her lip.

“A few thousand messages in about an hour, all telling me to look at the moon. I got an alert on TV that said to not look and stay indoors. I was smarter about it than you were to check it out. I used a mirror, and these things,” she gestured at the glasses she still had on her face. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I think the moon is spellbinding people somehow.”

“Not the moon itself,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s a satellite. It’s being used to broadcast some kind of signal, but it isn’t the fault of the moon itself.”

She pressed her face against him, snuggling him. That still didn’t sound good. Something strong enough to use the moon to project a signal like this? The thought scared the hell out of her.

The silence between them stretched out for a long moment, and then, she felt him tense a bit, and he drew back, his hands tight on her arms as he looked into her face. “How did you get here?”

The hair on her arms raised, and she swallowed hard. Biting her lower lip, she considered how to answer that. “I saw you and everyone here, staring at the moon. I called you through the mirror. I wasn’t going to let some nasty magic have you. So I did what I had to do to save you.”

“Sarah -” his voice lowered to that growl that did lovely things to her libido, but the temper that backed it was deep and strong.

“I made a doorway. Not the kind I use when I’m travelling in my own world. It’s older, stronger magic. I told Toby how to close it up behind me, and told him to not wait for me to get back.”

His brow was twitching in temper and he was growling deep in his chest. Swearing, he pushed a hand through his hair, his agitation clear in his movements. “Of all the stupid, foolhardy things you could - Dammit, Sarah, why the hell did you do something so -”

She swallowed hard, cupping his face between her hands, forcing him to look at her, meeting his gaze with her own, knowing she looked stubborn and determined. “You know why.”

The words left her in a whisper, and she saw the flash of emotions in his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut and he lowered her head until his head came to rest on her shoulder, again, his arms going around her and squeezing her tight. He didn’t speak for a long moment, just held onto her as tight as he could.

“Dammit, Sarah,” he whispered, and he sighed like it had been wrung out of him.

She didn’t apologize. She just wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him just as tight for a long moment. Tears filled her eyes and she pressed her face against the side of his neck, breathing in the spicy scent of him as deep as she could.

“I dreamed it, Jareth. Last night, I dreamed about finding you on your balcony. That the moon had taken you and you were going to try to make me look at it, too. When I saw you in the mirror at home, the view started to turn towards the moon. I was so scared that I wouldn’t be able to save you, this time. I never, ever want to feel that powerless again.”

He gave her another tight squeeze, and she felt him take a deep breath. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and pensive. “I’m sorry, precious.”

“What are we going to do?” she asked, biting her lower lip roughly and squeezing her eyes shut. “What do we do against something like this? Is there anything we can do?”

There was a rough laugh from the man who held her and he straightened. His hands found her cheeks and he tilted her face up to look at her, his eyes bright with amusement. He gave her a firm kiss on the lips before he got to his feet and took her hands, pulling her up as well. “First, Sarah, we find our clothing and get dressed. Then, we do the same thing we did a year ago. We find out who is doing this and we make them pay dearly for it.”

He was giving her a cheeky smile, and she gave a shaking laugh, returning the grin. Then, she nodded her head in agreement. “Alright, Jareth. Let’s put them in a world of hurt.


	5. Chapter 5

Toby was still extinguishing the last candle when Sarah and Jareth appeared back in her tiny apartment, outside the edge of the circle. Toby startled, throwing himself back from them lifting his fists like he intended to fight.

Sarah stood back, waiting for him to recognize who was standing there while Jareth took a look around, taking stock of the situation. He took particular notice of the circle that her brother had only just started clearing. His arm left Sarah’s waist and he crouched down, examining the circle closely.

Toby, upon realizing that nothing had come through the circle with the intention of malicious harm, collapsed backwards onto his backside and put his hands over his face for a long moment. “Holy shit, Sarah, you almost gave me a heart attack. That is so much worse than your normal way of popping in.”

Jareth straightened, and turned towards her, a frown pulling on his lips. “Do you realize that one damned missed stroke of your fingers could have dumped you in the middle of the screaming planes, Sarah? Add one, here, and you’d have ended up in the planes of eternal suffering. What were you thinking, using something like this without practicing doors like this for about a year?”

“Look, Jareth, it was a calculated risk,” she said. She helped her brother off the floor, glad that he was alright, and turned to look at Jareth, who was silently fuming, that muscle in his jaw clenched from all the words trying to get past his teeth.

“Sarah,” Toby said, giving her a long suffering look. “You suck at math, so that’s a terrible way of wording it.”

She gave her brother a sharp elbow in the ribs, but Jareth just snorted, and she saw his jaw relax and an amused smirk curve his lips. Then, he started turning around the space, now ignoring the circle on her floor. When his eyes swept over her kitchen, he froze, staring at the clock on her counter, and he whipped back towards her, pointing at it. His face was pale, something between fear and shock in his eyes.

“How the bloody hell did you end up with that cursed thing?!”

Sarah gave a quiet sigh and gestured for Toby to join them. She took the box from her counter and pushed it into Jareth’s hands, leaning back against her refrigerator. A quiet sigh escaped her. “It wasn’t ticking when I opened the box. It started sometime tonight, probably around when that alert woke me up.”

He looked the box over, stopping at the name and address on the top, and his brow furrowed in annoyance. “Dammit, Rhiannon,” he swore, then slapped the box back onto the countertop with a thump that sent packing peanuts spilling out of it. After a long moment, he lifted his gaze and looked at Sarah in exasperation. “Why is it never simple with the women in your family?”

She gave a tired shrug and heaved another sigh. “We can’t reach our parents or my mother. Toby’s girlfriend is holed up at work, hiding in a bathroom. The number of messages on my phone is still going up. We’re going to have to act under the assumption that we’re the only ones who can deal with this mess. We have no idea who or what is responsible for what’s going on. So we’re already at a disadvantage.”

“I concur,” Jareth said, sounding very weary. He looked towards Toby, and considered for a long moment. “Since we don’t have a way to get your girlfriend, yet, the best chance we have of saving her is to save all of them. Which means fixing whatever the hell is going on this time.”

“I’m not an idiot, Goblin King,” Toby said, nodding. “When Sarah called me with her crazy warning, I did what she said. I know Sarah well enough to trust her. So I’ll do what I have to do, now. Just point me in the right direction, and let’s kick some ass.”

Jareth’s eyes popped up at how Toby referred to him and he lifted a brow at Sarah, his lips twisting just a bit. “You told him?”

“About the Labyrinth and wishing him away when he was a baby? Ages ago.” She answered, lips twisting into a grimace. “About last year? I covered most of it after I got home. He said ‘goody’ about the chances of him being a part of this, this time. Are you sure he didn’t end up part goblin?”

Jareth bared his teeth at her in a mockery of a smile, glancing at Toby who was watching them both in something between interest and disgust. Then, he gave his attention to the clock. He didn’t pick it up at first, seeming to brace himself, then he lifted it with both hands, giving it a turn. His mirth left his face and a heavy sigh escaped him. She watched as his fingers grazed the engraved script around the face, and her eyes flicked to his face, finding the expression hard. When he set it down, it was with a great deal of care. 

“I’m sure you both already figured out by now that it’s counting down to the ‘end of the world’, whatever that ends up being, this time. The damn thing pops up every few centuries or so, but it’s been showing up more often of late. Typically the cause of its arrival is human concerns. It was around during the Cold War, and just before the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It made a brief appearance in Pompeii, as well. The first time I saw it, one of my kind was trying to rip down the veil.”

“I handled the translation this morning. I wasn’t certain what it was supposed to mean at first. Translating between Latin and English was never my strong suit.” Sarah worried the hem of her t-shirt, biting her lower lip.

“It wasn’t around last year?” Toby asked, and Sarah shook her head.

“No, Toby, it wasn’t,” Jareth said, and he looked at Sarah for a long moment. “This is much bigger than Crom, you realize. Just by grace of this damn thing showing up.” He hung his head and shook it hard for a moment, as though trying to clear stray thoughts. “Regardless, we need to figure out what is broadcasting the signal to the moon for mass hypnosis. And we need to manage that, and stop whatever is doing it in the next twenty two hours.”

“Sounds like fun,” Toby said. His voice was thick with sarcasm, but beneath that was a thread of fear. “No pressure, right?”

“Goblin, precious?” Jareth laughed, looking at her. His expression was amused, but there were nerves she could see in his beautiful eyes, too. He gestured towards Toby. “That attitude right there is all you.”

She watched as he pushed himself upright, side-stepping the circle as he walked towards the window and peered down at the streets. She followed him, grabbing his arm tight. Her nerves were still raw from how she’d found him in the Underground. She wasn’t certain she wasn’t going to have issues with that for years. His hand came to cover her own, the warmth of the gloved hand soothing her. Through a crack in the blinds, she saw people standing in the streets, perfectly still, their eyes lifted to the sky.

No one on the streets was moving. For the first time since she’d moved there, she felt unsettled. New York City’s pulse wasn’t throbbing like she was used to. It was creepy, not quite like death, but like being in a hospital after dark. Too silent, too still.

When he stepped back, he brought her with him. His expression was cool, but she was used to reading his eyes and she could see the nerves in them. He didn’t say anything for a moment, just put his arm around her and hugged her close, his lips finding the crown of her head.

She squeezed him hard for a moment, then took a step back, looking up at him. 

“We’re going to need proper gear for this.” His voice was hard and cold as the expression on his face. “I admit that I’m not sure what could cause this off the top of my head. So, we’re going to need to do research, and I’m not letting you go out into those streets without properly gearing up this time. You’re notoriously bad about forgetting things like ‘water’.”

She blinked, looking up at him in surprise. Then, she nodded, heading back to the table, hearing Jareth follow her.

“First question, how many pairs of those special glasses have you got?”

“Two more besides the ones on me and Toby,” she said, opening the drawer and slapping both pairs on the counter.”

He nodded, opening the glasses, and examining the glyphs on the interior of the frames. “Good. I’ll take a pair, and I want you to bring the extra along, just in case someone breaks theirs.” He slipped a pair of them over his face and she wanted to sputter at the sight, but she bit the chortle in, biting her lower lip. He just lifted a brow at her. “Not a word, precious.”

“Wasn’t gonna say a thing,” she managed, then started rifling through the drawer to avoid saying anything.

Toby had no such qualms. “You look like a hipster.”

Sarah bit her lip to force that laugh to die, because she could feel the seeth that Jareth was working on behind her. Giving a cough, she pulled out everything that was in the drawer, setting them in neat piles. “Toby, go into the bathroom, I’ve got some extra batteries for the flashlights.”

Her brother gave a quiet laugh and scrambled towards the bathroom.

“What the devil is a hipster?” her lover grumbled, and she looked towards him, grinning a bit. He wasn’t looking at her, he was examining the goods she unloaded onto the table. After a moment, he started setting his hands down, and she found a pile of crystals resting on the surface.

“What are those for?” She asked, a bit of a frown pulling at her lips.

“They’re self-contained spells. When you touch them, they should give you an impression of their use. The short version, one will stop time for approximately five minutes for anyone outside a five foot radius. A few should be good against weaker magical creatures, or hostile humans. A few flashbangs, be careful with those.”

She swallowed hard, nodding her head. Then, a familiar pouch appeared on the table and she blinked, taking a quick step back, remembering too well when he’d dosed her the year before.

“I know how you feel about the stuff, precious, but there’s a strong chance that before this is done you’ll need it.” He took her hand and the pouch, setting it there, and looking her in the eyes.

“Why are you doing this like you aren’t going to be there with me for this?” Sarah asked, her hands shaking.

“Sarah, this is bigger than us. Now that I know what is actually happening and with your special glasses, I know I’m safe. But I remember too well the last few adventures we had together. So you plan for the worst, and hope for the best. Otherwise, we’ll end up in a situation where we are ill prepared and not have what we need to get through this.”

She turned towards him, wrapping her arms around him as tight as she could. “We’ll get through this, right?”

His embrace was just as tight as hers, his hand stroking over her hair. “Of course. Who do you think you’re talking to, right now?”

She gave a rough laugh, nodding her head. When Toby came back from the bathroom, she straightened, not wanting her brother to see that she was having a weak moment. It was okay for Jareth to see those, but she didn’t want her brother to. Taking a steadying breath, she got a few smaller bottles of vodka she kept in her cabinet, and grabbed her messenger bag, starting to load them into that.

“Are we going on an adventure or a bender, Sarah?”

Jareth just grinned, and leaned towards her, amused. “I’ll grab some dishtowels, precious.”

“Wrong kind of cocktail,” she told her brother, taking a steadying breath. She checked her pockets, finding the crystal knob still in there from before. Her wallet and keys were shoved into the bag, as was her cell phone. Jareth returned with the towels, which she stuck between each of the bottles, and she grabbed her lighter from the drawer, slipping it into the pocket that had the knob in it.

“What’s with all the balls?”

“Dammit, Toby, just get some way to store them safely.” She took a steadying breath, sticking her chalk into the bag, then grabbing her compact, considering it for a long time. Pockets would make it easily accessible, but it would risk breaking. Flipping it open, she checked it, again. Tapping her finger against the surface, she watched it ripple and nodded her head.

“A mirror?” Jareth asked, his voice low and quiet. She felt his warmth at her back and flipped the mirror surfaces into her palm, letting him see the backs. One had a repelling glyph drawn on the back with a paint marker. “One side I can use to contact you if I need to. The other one has this, on it. That’s the one I used to check the moon before I called Toby.”

“Clever,” he said, his voice laced with pride. Then, he saw her pull the ash wand from where she kept it by her fridge. The branch it had been made from was five feet long, and was hefty enough to whack someone with if they needed it. He hadn’t expected to see it, obviously, and backed half a step away from it. “Damn, that crone will always make her the mark she left in the world known, won’t she.”

She paused a moment, then leaned it against the table near her brother. “I’m not sure she hadn’t been here all along, Jareth. That clock didn’t get sent before she died, I was there, I’d have known about it. Toby didn’t even have the place he’s staying at a year ago.” She shook her head at that clock, frowning at it. “I don’t know what’s happened with that, but after the dreams lately, I trust my instincts more than my eyes.”

“Never mind the weirdo that delivered it around midnight the other night?”

“Weirdo?” Jareth asked, his expression sharpening.

“Wasn’t in uniform, just placed the box in my hands and left, didn’t have me sign for it. Don’t remember much about him, but he had…” Toby stopped, his brow furrowing. “Wait a damn minute, he had eyes like you!”

Sarah blinked, and took a steadying breath, then looked at Jareth. “Do you think -”

Jareth’s lips tightened into a bit of a grimace. “Cuchulain. If he and your grandmother could kindly stop making your life difficult, it would be much appreciated.”

They all went quiet for a long moment, listening to the quiet tick of the clock. Sarah felt the distinct urge to down another gulp of the vodka that still sat on her bedside table. She was getting a thought that she wasn’t certain she liked very much. A breath heaved out of her, and she looked at her mirror, seriously considering calling them, but he wasn’t someone she technically knew, and she wasn’t certain if the call would even work.

Toby took the length of ash and hefted it, his brow furrowed. “What is with the walking stick, anyways?”

Jareth shifted away from Toby, frowning. “Fae creatures don’t like things made of ash. We find it repulsive.”

“But Sarah mentioned the clock was made of that?”

“It is,” he acknowledged, glancing towards her. “Having spent as much time around Rhiannon and Sarah as I have, I’ve had to learn to cope with the discomfort of being around their protective measures. At this point, they can’t stop me completely, they’re merely uncomfortable.”

“Right,” Toby said, his brow furrowing a bit. To his credit, he didn’t lift the stick and give Jareht a poke with it to see how he’d react.

Sarah continued sorting the things on her table, including her zip strips, setting several of those into the bag, finding a pocket to tuck the mirror into. She packed the salt, just in case. Jareth was right, it was better to have stuff and not need it, than need it and not have it. That thought gave her pause, and she looked towards her lover, not liking what she’d just considered. Her hands gave a tremor as she packed the crystals into the messenger bag. He was right, she could tell what they were for with a brush of her fingers.

“I had a thought, Jareth,” she said, swallowing hard.

“Oh, no.”

She looked up at him and saw the tone was deceptively mild. He was looking at her like he knew she was going to take an already complicated situation and complicate it much worse. But he was right, and if they needed those things, and didn’t have them, they’d be worse off. Still, she bristled a bit, gesturing like she was going to elbow him. He jumped about half a foot from her.

The banter helped put her into a mental state where she wasn’t just blind panic and she looked at him, her face serious. “I swear, it’s a good one. This time.”

The tartness of her voice pulled a grin onto her lover’s face, and he gestured. “Let’s hear it, then, precious.”

She hesitated, nervous. He wasn’t going to like this. “We need the treasures.”

He paused, considering her for a long moment. It was like he wasn’t certain she was serious. “Sarah -”

“If this comes down to a fight, and we need those things but don’t have them, we’re fucked.” She looked him in the eyes, her hands curled into fists against the table. “And we’re going to need more help. Three people against the end of the world, Jareth? It’s insane. You’re free of the influence, now, and you know how to fight back against the magic. You’ve got the glasses to keep you safe. So you go, get the treasures, and bring whatever army you can back with you.”

His lips were pulled into a tight frown that told her everything she’d ever need to know about how he felt about this particular idea of hers. He started pacing and she and Toby just sat there watching. None of them spoke for a long moment.

Then, Jareth spun towards her, his finger pointed at her, and his temper clear on his face. “I don’t like that you’re right about this. So you’d better keep that mirror on you, precious. And you’d better keep in touch.”

She nodded her head, taking a steading breath and getting to her feet. “I will. I promise.”

He looked at her for a long moment, his expression looking hard from all the lines of stress and temper that lined it. He stepped towards her, and his grip on her arms was hard enough to bruise, but she didn’t complain. He was scared, she could see that in his eyes. Shit, she was scared, too. “Just remember that time passes differently in the Underground than it does, here. Check in every hour by your time. And keep that damned clock safe. I don’t know what will happen if it gets destroyed.”

She nodded, looking up at him and took a steadying breath. “I will. I promise.”

His eyes narrowed and he pulled her into a very brief, very hard kiss, before he set her away from him, again. He looked into her eyes for another moment, and then he was gone and she was left standing in her apartment, alone with Toby, watching glitter drift to the bare hardwood.


	6. Chapter 6

“Sarah, I have a concern.” Toby said, helping her pack up their bag of tricks, his face serious.

“Just one?” Sarah asked, looking at him from the corner of her eyes.

“No,” he replied back, his voice sounding a little tense. “But I wasn’t sure you’d let me say anything if I told you how many I actually have.”

Sarah could almost hear Jareth retort in her mind. She could hear exactly how he’d say it, and it caused a pang in her chest that she didn’t expect. She took a steadying breath, blinking hard to keep her eyes dry. 

“What’s the concern, Toby?” she asked, clearing her throat and hoping he didn’t notice the strained tone.

“It’s almost seven a.m., right?”

“Yeah,” she frowned, lifting her eyes and looking at him, her brow furrowing. “So what?”

“So...it’s still dark, outside.”

She stopped for a moment, turning towards her window. She moved towards the window and peered through the blinds with caution. It didn’t take long to determine he was right. She released the blinds, pressing her forehead against them. “Fuck,” she murmured, then straightened, shaking her head.

Toby just watched her for a long moment, as she moved back towards him, and his eyes showed a hint of worry for her. That almost made her laugh.

“Well, Toby, of the concerns you could have had, that’s a valid one. No daylight. So, we’re going to be tackling this in full dark.” Sounds like fun. Which would mean they’d have no reprieve from whatever magic was going on. For at least the next twenty-odd hours, they’d be operating under whatever the hostile magic being broadcast from the moon was. She took a moment to steady herself, and took a deep breath.

“So, this is it, then? Saving the world in our pajamas?” Her brother asked, shaking her out of her thoughts and worries, and drawing her attention back to him. 

She looked her brother over, and noticed for the first time that he was still wearing his pjs and shook her head. Giving him a wry grin, she shouldered her bag and started digging through her drawers, finding some jeans she’d stashed for Jareth ages ago.

He’d never actually worn them, nor had he worn the t-shirt that went with them. But it meant something to her for him to have the things he might need available. This left her in a situation to help her brother with his current situation. “Take these and go change in the bathroom. And when all this is over, remember to make a bug out bag.”

“A what now?” he asked, taking the jeans and giving her a look of confusion.

“A bag of the things you’ll need if shit should go sideways and you need to ‘bug out’ of a situation in a hurry,” she answered. She waited until he’d disappeared into the small bathroom, and started checking her messenger bag again, trying to steady herself.

Sending Jareth back to the Underground after he’d gotten trapped there by this once already had her at wits end. She knew he wasn’t stupid enough to get caught by that magic again, but that didn’t stop her from worrying about him. She knew he was perfectly capable of doing something idiotic and noble for her. She just hoped that this wasn’t one of those things. She found the small pouch, again and bit her lower lip, looking at it for a long moment.

He’d dosed her with it last year, when she was dead on her feet from exhaustion. She’d been mad about that when she found out what it was, but in the end it gave her the strength and energy to save him when she’d needed to. 

That was the only reason she didn’t pull it out of her bag, even after considering it for a long time. She knew that the chance they’d need the boost from it over the next day was higher than she cared to admit. Especially since even with her relaxation techniques, she wasn’t running on a full night of rest.

A sigh escaped her and she hefted the pouch from the messenger bag and tied it off on the belt loop of her jeans before she slipped the pouch into her pocket. In the meanwhile, she tried to not think about how long it had been for Jareth, already. She just hoped he’d make it in time, and that he was okay.

Toby walked out of the bathroom and noticed her fussing the pouch into her pocket. “What is that?”

She opened her mouth to answer him, and then wondered how to explain that she had about fifty grams of cocaine in her fucking pocket. She closed her mouth, blinking several times, and then took a deep breath. “Look, it’s hard to explain. If we end up needing it, I’ll explain then.”

He didn’t ask her for more explanation, so she went and rifled through her bedside tables for a few cans of mace and her keychain that she’d brought with her from her grandmother’s house. It held the hagstone she’d found on the moors of Ireland the year before, as well as a small bead of cold iron. She also had a set of brass knuckles looped through the ring, so that the keys would be in her fist when she punched. She slipped her hand through them and considered them for a long moment. Then, she crouched down and pulled the homemade ash-wood baseball bat from underneath her futon.

“Shit, Sarah. Is there anything that you don’t have in this place?” Toby asked when she came back towards the table with the remaining goods. She passed him a few of the cans of mace, just in case, and slipped the key ring into her back pocket.

“After last summer, I started to learn that I needed to be prepared for all possible instances of weird shit. Could you grab the beef jerky out of the cabinet?” She asked, considering the bag, and after a moment, a frown pulled her lips. After this, she was buying that tactical vest she’d been eyeing at the local hunting surplus store. It would sort and protect these things better than a bag. Especially the crystals.

He returned with the bounty requested and she shoved as many as she could fit into the bag. She was getting ready for them to get out of there when a rattle at her windows drew her attention and she froze, turning towards it slowly.

She could see something outside, backlit by the streetlights. She didn’t know what the fuck she was looking at, but she could see that it wasn’t human. Sarah could see the shape of wings flapping, and feet that looked more like talons of a bird. The hands she saw were twisted and gnarled into claws.

A shudder worked through her and she grabbed her flashlights, shoving them down into the bag and one into her pocket. As she watched that shadow on her window, her wards lit up.

Danger.

“Toby, we need to get the hell out of here. Now.” Her voice was quiet and tense and she knew he heard the worry in it. She snatched up the chalk from where she’d left it, working on a doorway to get them out of this apartment, at very least. There was only one other way they could get in or out, and that was the front door. Right now, she wasn’t certain she trusted the mundane doors, especially since her brother had been attacked by a neighbor in his own apartment.

He was staring at the window, his expression one of tension and growing horror. “Sarah, what the fuck is that?”

“Do you want to get a closer look?” She asked, her tone pointed. She set the chalk on the wall and started drawing the doorway, trying to steady herself and to keep her focus on where they could go that was safe. She set the knob into the door and closed her eyes, knocking before opening the doorway. She almost stepped through, before she remembered the one thing she didn’t put in the pack.

“Shit. The clock.” She sprung towards it, and grabbed it from her countertop. As she made contact, something hit her door so hard she thought it had broken. She looked up, one hand flying to stifle the scream that caught in her throat. She tucked the clock under her arm, trying to ignore the fact that she was shaking. She shifted back towards the door she’d opened and found the crystal knob, shoving it into her pocket as something smashed into her door again. She yelped, this time, and saw Toby was waiting in the doorway for her, looking more afraid than she’d seen him in over a decade. She shoved him through the door, grabbing the door she’d made and slammed it shut behind her.

The doorway let them into the theater she usually worked in. They were in the hallway where the dressing rooms were, well backstage and away from any windows. She took a moment to catch her breath and wonder if her apartment would still be in one piece when everything was over. She closed her eyes, blinking back tears for a moment and trying to calm herself. She went over what she had in the bag for another moment, and then oriented herself to the hallway.

“Where the fuck are we?” Toby asked, his voice tight with fear, still. She could feel him shivering in the darkness.

“I work here,” she said, and gave him a bit of a wry grin in the darkness, even though he wouldn’t see it. “When I have work, anyways.”

“I keep forgetting you’re in theater,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Lately it seems your ‘work’ involves the weird, creepy, and otherworldly.”

“Fair enough,” she said, with a pause as she considered that. He wasn’t wrong, after all. She gave a rough laugh that wasn’t amused at all. “Do they pay for that, I wonder? Dealing with all the weird and creepy shit that slips over the veil into our world. I wonder if I could make a living on it.” It wasn’t like that mattered. She knew well enough fae favors might carry into this world, but that didn’t mean that it would support her. “It’s not like it even matters, I don’t give a damn.”

She did things like this for other reasons. Like because she had to, or because it was right. Or because monsters were literally on her doorstep.

A loud rattle overhead gave Sarah pause and she held out her arm, keeping Toby still for a long moment while she looked up into the darkness. They were silent for a tense moment.

“Sarah,” Toby said, a moment later, his voice quiet. “You give so many damns they’re visible from space.”

Sarah might have laughed at that, but another strong rattle sounded, this one down the hall from them. She grabbed her brother, dragging him into one of the dressing rooms on the side of the hall they stood in. They peered through the crack in the door, hiding in the darkness, as something stalked through the hallway.

Its steps reminded her of the movie Jurassic Park, the way the velociraptors and tyrannosaurus walked. Steady, but nothing human about the footfalls. They were loud, almost like they were stomping, but couldn’t control the weight of their own feet. Something passed through the corridor, not far from them and she didn’t get a clear look at it. Toby, however, sucked in a sharp breath through his nose.

The thing in the hallway paused, those heavy steps silent for a moment, then it turned towards the room they were in, and those steps grew closer. Sarah closed the door as quiet as she could, pushing her brother back from it. She gripped her baseball bat, lifting it, ready to beat the ever-living-fuck out of whatever the hell that thing was.

The door started to open, and she bit her lower lip as hard as she could, adjusting her grip. Then, a soft whistle sounded in the darkness, and the creature went very still. Then, there was the stomp of feet, a loud flap of wings, and then a thunderous crash. She and Toby remained perfectly still for several minutes before she relaxed her grip on the bat and lowered it. She took several steadying breaths through her nose, noting that these things seemed to have super human hearing.

“Keres,” her brother whispered, and she glanced back, noting that he was pressed tight against the wall. She blinked, moving towards him in the dark room. Once she saw him, she noticed he was paler than usual. “What the hell are those things doing here?”

“What things, Toby?” She asked, her voice quiet, still, not trusting that there weren’t more of those damn things around.

It took her brother a long moment to steady himself. He pushed a shaking hand through his hair and shook himself, starting to pace the small room they stood in. He paused, moving towards the doorway and opened it, peering out into the hallway. He took his phone and shined it on the floor and then crouched, picking up a handful of feathers.

“When I was a kid, you told me lots of stories about the fair folk. I loved them, you know. You’ve always been amazing at telling stories. After you left home, when I was in highschool, I got super into Greek mythology.” He straightened and moved back towards her, showing her the feathers. They looked like an oil slick, black and iridescent. Like raven or crow feathers, but massive in comparison.

“What are Keres?”

“The myths said they were the personification of violent death.” His voice trembled just a bit and he looked at her, his expression tense. “They would hang around battlefields and eat the corpses of the dead. What the fuck are they doing here…?”

“Why do you think that’s what they are?” She asked, trying to smother her growing horror. This was much worse than last summer.

“Gee, Sarah,” Toby said, his voice thick with sarcasm. It almost made her grin, but she couldn’t quite bend her face into a smile. “Let me pull out a reference book and fill you in. The harpies have human faces, and most depictions of them didn’t have arms, and were considered personifications of the destructive force of the wind. Keres didn’t have human heads or faces, but they had human bodies with wings. Think biblical style of angels. Not the pretty ones renaissance artists made, the actual abominations that would destroy you if you looked at them.”

A shiver worked its way through her and she nodded her head, accepting that. “Sorry, I’m too used to Jareth being the one to spoon feed me information to close the holes in my own knowledge. Weird getting it from my baby brother.”

Toby gave her a grin that was mostly teeth. Then, his smile fell away and he looked at her, too serious. “So, now what do we do?”

She was trying to figure out how to answer him on that, when the window nearest to them rattled. The window was covered with newspaper, and had curtains hanging over it, so she couldn’t see outside, but at this point, she didn’t trust any sounds that seemed out of place. She noticed her brother had gone deathly still at the sound as well.

She covered her mouth with a hand, considering drawing another doorway, but right then, she wasn’t certain where she could take them. So, instead, she crouched, and gestured to her brother to do the same. Then, she led the way, keeping low and edging along silently, out of the dressing room they’d been hiding in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't lie, I'm having a lot more trouble with this one than I did Running with the Wolves.


	7. Chapter 7

Sarah and Toby left the theater, Sarah still holding onto her baseball bat as tight as she could. Her hands and shoulders ached from the tension she carried in them. She didn’t like that they were being hunted by the literal personification of violent death. She didn’t think that boded well for her or her brother.

It also made her wish a little more that Jareth was here.

Those who were hypnotised in the streets didn’t seem to notice the nightmares that flew through the sky. They were still all looking up at the moon with that same expression of placid peace and frightened awe. As far as she could tell, none of them seemed to be moving. It was like the city was still holding its breath, like it was anticipating something. She didn’t like what this whole thing was doing to her city.

Still, she and Toby kept to the shadows, moving through alleys and slipping past hypnotised men and women, trying to keep out of line of sight of the Keres.

“Do those things even have anything to do with the moon?” Sarah asked him, keeping her voice soft and quiet. It still felt like thunder in the silence. She was heading towards the downtown area, towards the general vicinity of where the taller buildings were, hoping that they’d be able to get into Bunny’s. It was a tall building, and would give them a better line of sight than being on ground level. She’d have liked to have gone to Central Park, since that was the closest New York had to a proper forest inside the city. She needed that connection to nature, she thought.

Then, she’d thought about what could happen to them if they were caught in the open. That had convinced her that the narrow alleys and dark corners of the city streets were the better option. For now, at least.

“Not really, no. They’re usually portrayed as carrion eaters on battlefields. Their mother was Nyx, though.” His voice was just as quiet as her own, as if he was afraid that speaking too loud would draw the attention of the Keres. Hell, it probably would. “Nyx is the primordial goddess of the night. She’s old, and the stories said she was so beautiful and powerful Zeus himself was afraid of her.”

Sarah paused and glanced back at him, eyes wide. That might be a link, but she wasn’t certain how that could affect both sides of the veil simultaneously. After a moment, she shook herself, trying to focus on now. Things like this, when she didn’t have time to actually think were a distraction. It was too much to think about, right then. So she filed it away for later, when she could give it her focus without worry.

They reached the end of the alley, and something else caught Sarah’s attention. There were people that were moving through the streets, dressed in black cloaks that shielded their faces, people who weren’t looking up at the moon. Those people moved in hushed silence through the shadows, as well, as though they were hiding as well. Sliding her glasses down her nose until she could see over them, she looked towards some of them and sucked in a quiet breath. She couldn’t see them without looking through the frames.

A shudder wracked her body and she pressed against the wall of the building they stood next to. She gestured for her brother to keep moving, and when they reached a side entrance for a cafe in the building. She tested the door, and breathed a sigh of relief when it was unlocked. She pulled it open and gestured for him to get inside. Once they were, she slipped through the building, keeping low, trying to not get seen through the front windows as they searched for another exit.

“Sarah?” Toby’s tone asked for an answer, even though he only said her name. She crouched on the ground behind the front counter, looking at him.

“Did you see the creepers in the cloaks?” She asked, and took her mirror, lifting it over the bar, to see if they could see any of them out the large glass windows at the front of the building.

“Creepers?”

“They’ve got to have some sort of magical shielding on them. You can’t see them without looking through the glasses. I don’t know who or what they are, but I’m not eager to meet them.” She admitted, and gestured when she caught an image of one of them in the glass so her brother could see what she’d seen. Once she was certain he had, she closed the compact, and shook her head. “They don’t seem to be under the influence of the moon, but they were doing something to the people who are.”

“Is shit always this weird with you?” Toby asked after a long moment of silence. She gave him a bit of a grin and shrugged, then started heading to the back of the building. Sarah grabbed a flashlight from her pocket, trying to keep the aim low as they moved through the darkness. She didn’t want either of them to trip and accidentally make lots of noise to attract the attention of those things, again.

“Grandmammy Rhi said I’m fae touched.” She admitted, and shrugged. “I’m not sure how much of that has to do with this. I know I have been since I wished you away. Until last year, I had managed to stay on the edge of weirdness. I guess crossing that river did more than set me off on an adventure. I seem to attract weird shit, now.”

He heaved a quiet sigh, and gave her a long suffering look. “If you’re fae touched, what the hell does that make me?”

“Whatever you decide to be,” she answered after a long moment of silence. That answer felt true enough, because it was true for her, too. Wishing her brother away hadn’t been the cause of all of this, it had just been the catalyst. Her decisions, her general lack of caution as she dove into the unknown and her curiosity of the fantastical were why she kept getting involved in situations like this one. “I’m really getting curious what dad’s family history might be, since my mom’s is so twisted up in the fae realms.”

Toby gave the quietest snort she’d ever heard from him.

They found a fire exit at the back of the building, and left through that. She pulled the door closed behind her, and when she turned around, she felt Toby’s arm holding her back against the wall. She finished her turn, and found people standing there at the door in a half-circle around them, as if they had been waiting. There were none of those hooded figures that Sarah could see, but she still felt anxiety crackle over her nerves.

The hypnotised people were standing there, staring at them, but it was clear that though their view of the moon had been broken, they were still under its thrall. Toby was standing between her and them, and frankly, she wasn’t certain if she wanted to laugh or punch him. She shifted under his extended arm and came to stand in front of him, lifting her baseball bat in one hand. Her other hand dug into the messenger bag, finding one of the crystals inside. That was when she realized how right Jareth was. She could feel the intention of the spell in the crystal.

This one gave the sensation of a small blast, and she took a shaking breath and pulled it out as those people moved towards them.

“Toby, I need you to follow my instructions right now to the letter. Close your eyes and brace yourself.” She lifted the crystal in her hand, looking past it at the people still moving towards them.

“Sarah -”

“Just fucking do what I said, squirt,” she snapped, and closed her own eyes, hoping her brother had listened to her. She felt the first grasping fingers and let the crystal fall, hearing it smash on the ground in front of her. The power from it rushed over her, and she felt it hook in for a moment before it seemed to recognize her, then it passed over her and her brother harmlessly.

She stayed like that for a second, until she was certain whatever the spell was going to do was done, and when she opened her eyes, those people had been blasted back across the alley, away from her and her brother. A shaking breath left her and she grabbed her brother’s arm, dragging him down the alleyway at a brisk jog.

That was loud, and she suspected that they’d grabbed a lot of attention with that little maneuver that she didn’t want to deal with. They didn't have the time to waste by lingering in shock. She was glad that Toby seemed to understand that, too, running along with her, though he still glanced back at the aftermath.

“What the fuck was that?!” He whispered, but the exclamation was clear in spite of the lower volume.

“One of those crystals Jareth gave to me,” she gasped back at him, pulling him down another side-street and then she jerked to a halt, watching as more of those winged creatures streaked past. They let out a shriek of anger that made her flinch. In her peripheral vision, she saw Toby press his hands against his ears, trying to muffle that sound. She didn’t move again, until they were gone, and she gave a shiver. “Where does Bunny work?”

“Why?” Toby whispered back, looking towards her. She heaved a sigh, looking at him for a long moment before she answered him.

“So we can go check on her and make sure she’s safe, first of all. Second, because we can get roof access and see what we can note from above, which might give us an edge. People are expecting everyone to be at ground level.” She hesitated for a long moment, and took a steadying breath. “Besides those two things, I need a safe place I can contact Jareth from or he’s going to abandon what he’s been doing and come crashing in on us, because he’s a worrywort by nature. After last year, I can’t say I blame him. I got into way more trouble than I should have.”

“You’re going to try to jump us through a doorway there?” She nodded in answer and he heaved a sigh, then nodded. “Okay.” He pulled his phone out and searched his girlfriend’s work address.

“What is she doing at work so late, anyways?”

“She works at the IT call center in the building. Since they have to be staffed twenty four hours in case some big wig in Europe and India has their computer or internet shit the bed, she pulls nights,” Toby answered, and he lifted the screen and showed her the building. “Can you get us there with this?”

She took the phone and after a moment, she nodded, expanding the picture and running her eyes over the picture, considering the image. 

“Yeah. I can.”

She dug out her chalk, drawing the door on the brick face of the alleyway, setting her crystal knob at the impression on the surface. Closing her eyes, she pictured the outside of the building, until she could almost imagine standing in front of it. She knew this was a more dangerous jump than the previous ones, she’d never been to this office building before, so she had to make sure she knew exactly where they were landing. Then, she knocked three times and turned the knob.

The crack made her more cautious, and she pushed the door open and took her doorknob off and stuck it back in her pocket. The doorway was at ground level, so that was a good start. She stepped through and her brother followed and she pushed the door shut behind them so nothing could piggyback through it. The door had opened on an exterior wall, beside a massive window. She took a cautious glance around, not liking how open the area around this building was, and trying to ignore it for now.

“Text Bunny, let her know we’re here now and see if she can get us inside and upstairs.”

Toby took a long, shaking breath and nodded, starting to punch into his phone. When he received a response, he hit the number pad by the coded front door and they slipped inside. She moved with him towards the elevators and noted that the security officers were staring at the cameras with the same expression of those who were looking at the moon directly. She felt herself give a bit of a shudder and shook her head. 

“Looks like I was right about footage of the moon doing the same as direct light. I hate being right.”

Toby nodded, a deep frown cutting his face. He glanced around and hit the button for the elevators. “Come on, let’s go. Bunny’s on the sixth floor, she said that there’s no one else on that one.”

She nodded in agreement and when the elevator opened, she got on with him, both of them still keeping as quiet as they could. She knew part of that was nerves. Now that they were in a place she hoped was somewhat safe, she noticed her exhaustion and that she was starving. A sigh escaped her and she hefted the pouch out of her pocket, dabbing her finger into the white powder and rubbing it into her gum line until she felt the buzz from it. Then, without asking, she shoved the pouch at her brother. “Fingertip only, rub it into your gums and it’ll give you a boost. Don’t sniff it. It’ll have you clinging to the ceiling and I don’t have the energy or patience to pull you down.”

He did as she’d told him, eyeing her as he did so. When nothing happened, he relaxed, but she could see that he looked more alert. “Okay, what the hell is this stuff?”

She’d promised to tell him, but she didn’t want to. “It’s cocaine,” she finally answered, her tone blunt.

“What?!” He yelped the word as if she’d burned him.

“Don’t start,” she said back, and took a deep breath. She pulled the clock from her bag and checked the time on it. She didn’t like how long it had taken them to get here. As the elevator dinged, she shoved it back into the bag and passed him a stick of beef jerky. “We’ll need the energy.”

“Dammit, Sarah,” Toby muttered, his tone tart. She suspected that his expression would remind Jareth of her own from last year and she felt her heart twist uncomfortably in her chest. She needed to not think about him too much, she had more immediate concerns.

Bunny was waiting at the elevators as they opened. Her brother’s girlfriend was adorable rather than stunning, and suited the nickname he had for her. Her blond hair was loose around her shoulders and her blue eyes looked nervous. She saw Toby and threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. “What on earth is going on?!”

“It’s hard to explain,” he admitted, and gave her a squeeze in return. “Sarah’s weirdness is just spilling over into other’s lives and biting them in the ass.”

She gave him a glare and he just gave her a half-grin that was all mischief. She knew that was his form of payback for dosing him. She can’t say she’d have done different to her lover a year ago. She took a moment to scan the room, tuning out Bunny and Toby’s quiet conversation. There was a computer with the light on and so she headed towards that one, and sat down, starting to pull up information as she could.

Then, she stopped, remembering that she had to get a hold of Jareth. She glanced over at Toby and Bunny, seeing that they were preoccupied playing catch up with everything Bunny had missed, and she pulled out her compact, tapping the glass. “Jareth, I need you,” she said, her voice quiet.

His face appeared on the surface of the mirror and she saw his expression was one of sharp relief. She felt that same sensation in her chest and heaved a sigh, biting her lip.

“This is taking longer than I had anticipated,” Jareth said, his own voice sounding roughened by exhaustion. She wondered how much sleep he’d been getting. “But I’ve got most of the goblins freed and that includes your dearest friends. Where are you?”

“We’re across town at Bunny’s office. We got chased out of the apartment,” she admitted, and didn’t like the worry she saw on her lover’s face. “We’re heading up to the roof soon to see if we can get a better look at the situation from above. I’ll fill you in on more when you’re done on your side, but please hurry.”

He nodded his head in agreement.

She hesitated for a moment, and swallowed hard. “I’m sorry it took me so long to contact you. Finding a safe place has been a challenge. There’s a lot of craziness going on. More than last year.”

“How much time do we have left on the clock?” He asked, his voice quiet.

“About six hours,” she said, doing her best to not think about it even as she answered him. She heard him swear and she bit her lower lip, brushing her fingers against the cool surface of the glass. Her fears were choking her. “We need to talk when this is all over, Jareth.”

His lips twitched and she saw mischief and amusement in his beautiful eyes. “The last time we talked after one of your little adventures, there wasn’t much actual talking involved, as I recall.”

“Well, I imagine we’ll be doing a fair bit of arguing at very least,” she teased, remembering when he’d arrived in her cabin and they’d snogged each other senseless. The banter helped her relax a little and she heaved a sigh, looking at his face again. “I’m going, now. I’ll see you soon.”

He nodded in agreement and his hand lifted towards the reflection. Their fingers touched on the surface for just a moment and their connection broke. Sarah squeezed her eyes shut, closing the compact and hugging it against her chest for a long moment. Then, she noticed the room was quiet, that Toby and Bunny’s conversation had stopped.

Lifting her head, she found them looking towards her and she stuck the compact into her pocket. She looked at the screen for a long moment, considering if they had time to actually do proper research right now. Then, she remembered that they had around six hours left and got to her feet. “Can you get us to the roof?”

“Of course,” Bunny said, her adorable face set in an expression of certainty.

They headed back to the elevator, and Bunny put in a code for the roof. They rode up in silence, Bunny sticking closer to Toby as they did. When the elevator opened, they were in a dark corridor, and Bunny led them out a side door onto the rooftop. Sarah took a steadying breath as they stepped out into the light of the moon overhead. Toby was keeping close to her, shielding Bunny’s eyes as they moved across the roof. They kept a low center, as they had elsewhere, as the moved to the middle of the open roof and Sarah took a deep breath, getting to her feet and looking across the dark city. 

It was too still for the most part. But that stillness drew her attention to a lower building not terribly far from where they were. She could see on the roof of that building there was a swirl of energy, like it was drawing all of the light in, leaving the world in darkness. Even the street lights seemed to pull towards it. She didn’t dare take her glasses off as she looked towards it, feeling the chill that crawled up her back.

She took a steadying breath and closed her eyes, nodding. “Okay. That’s where we need to go, Toby.”

“Where?” Toby moved towards her, still protecting Bunny from the moonlight. She pointed and then dug out her chalk, setting it on the ground and starting to draw the doorway into the top of the roof.

“What is she doing?” Bunny asked, her voice quiet.

“Getting us out of here,” Toby replied, his voice just as quiet.

Sarah concentrated hard, her eyes narrowed, and as she closed off the door, she heard the whoosh of powerful wings and she felt a twist of fear as she lifted her eyes into the darkness.

Fuck.

Around the rooftop was a swarm of the Keres, and surrounding them in a circle were figures cloaked in black.

How the fuck did they find them this time?


	8. Chapter 8

Sarah looked across the roof at the circle of hooded figures and Keres, and she reached a hand towards her brother, gesturing him to come towards her. He glanced around and he went pale in the dim light. She watched as he urged Bunny towards the center of the roof as well, keeping her eyes shielded. Pushing a hand into her bag, she crushed her fingers across the crystals until she found another that gave the impression of an explosion of power. She doubted they’d work on the Keres, but it wasn’t about it working. Not really.

Her eyes flicked towards her brother and she blinked at him slowly, to give him an idea of what was coming as she drew her hand out of the pack. He nodded, and his eyes closed, hand tightening over Bunny’s.

The creatures swooped towards them and she smashed the crystal against the ground, blowing them back a bit. As she expected, the Keres shook it off and swooped towards her again. She grabbed the next crystal, and this time she squinted her own eyes shut, smashing a flashbang against the ground.

The brightness seared her retinas through closed eyes, and she heard Bunny and Toby shout in surprise. The creatures screamed, swerving away and Sarah slammed her hand against the doorway beneath them, not bothering with a doorknob. She couldn’t risk losing it, and this was a high risk door. A crack formed with reluctance, but she just knocked harder, her brow furrowing.

It finally opened, and all three of them fell through the doorway and kept right on falling. She saw the creatures swoop towards the open door and thrust her hand towards it, feeling something hot crackle along her hand and the door blasted shut behind them.

They landed hard on concrete ground in a completely dark room, and the three of them rolled over, groaning in pain. Sarah was used to pain, however, and managed to force herself to roll onto her back, taking stock of herself as she looked at the ceiling. She ached, but nothing seemed broken. She’d probably have some bruises tomorrow, but that was a concern for tomorrow. She sat slowly, double checking herself, hoping shock wasn’t masking anything nasty.

When she was certain she was alright, she turned towards her brother and Bunny. Bunny was laying very still, but Sarah could see the faint rise and fall of her chest, so she knew she was alive. Toby was groaning in pain, rolled onto his side, still recovering from the fall.

After she verified they were both alive, she took a moment to get her bearings and take in their surroundings. Taking her flashlight out, she tested it, and was relieved to find it still worked. She shifted to look at the bag at her hip and winced instantly upon seeing that the bottom of the bag was soaked. She opened the bag and looked inside, confirming her fears.

Not only had the bottles of vodka shattered from her rough landing, several of the crystals from Jareth had broken as well, their magic leaving the room with a faint puff of smoke and she gave a sigh, pulling the clock out carefully and drying it off on her shirt, before dumping the glass shards and crystal dust out of her bag. She brushed her fingers over the two remaining crystals, finding a flashbang and the one that stopped time still intact and she heaved a sigh of relief that she had that much. The clock was slightly mangled from the fall, but was otherwise still functional.

She closed up the bag again, and closed her eyes, pressing the palms of her hands against her eyes and giving herself a moment to breathe. She’d been aiming at the roof, but she’d take a room. It was out of the open, and judging by the feel of things, they were still close enough to the center point, she could feel the pull of the magic in the air. Considering she had to do the doorway blind and hadn’t even used a proper doorknob, she wasn’t grudging the landing. She was just glad they hadn’t ended up in a weird dimension and only missed the aim by a bit.

She shook herself a bit and got to her feet, wincing a bit, noting that her ankle was twisted, but didn’t seem sprained or broken. Turning, she surveyed the room they’d landed in. The room was massive, even the ceiling seemed dark with the flashlight turned towards it. Then, her flashlight reflected in inhumanly bright eyes, and she went very still.

The creature that shared the room with them was looking at her in silence, not moving at all. Even with her brother groaning and calling her, she couldn’t tear her eyes from the massive figure. She moved towards it with slow, cautious steps, her brain struggling to comprehend what she was looking at.

It was humanoid in shape, and gigantic, barely fitting into the room crouched down as it was. If she had to assign it a gender, she’d call it a woman, its face having that inhuman sort of beauty that the fae had. Its hair was dark waves, cascading around her shoulders and seemed like it was filled with stars and galaxies. Her eyes were the same color as moonlight, silver and bright. In the dim light of the flashlight, her skin looked midnight blue.

What Sarah noticed, after taking in the figure for a long moment, was that it was chained to the ground by massive chains, rough iron manacles at it’s wrists with cruel magic woven inside of it. Sarah’s breath caught as she saw a similar collar around her neck, with a chain that ran to the same iron loop on the floor that trapped it’s wrists.

Pain in those massive eyes, grief and something familiar that reminded her of Jareth. That fragile, terrible hope.

Her heart twisted in pain and she took a steadying breath. Movement in her peripheral vision drew her attention and she saw her brother had recovered, was standing at her side and staring up at the creature, his face pale.

“Is Bunny -?”

“She’s still unconscious from the fall,” Toby admitted, looking towards her for the briefest moment. Then, his eyes went back to the creature chained to the floor of the room they stood in. He stepped towards it, and Sarah would have stopped him, but the creature simply lowered its head when Toby lifted his hand. His hand was pale against the darkness of her skin and when he spoke again, his voice cracked a little.

“You’re Nyx,” he said, and Sarah saw terrible grief in his eyes like she felt in her heart. “How did this happen? Who would do such a thing?”

Sarah stepped up beside her brother, looking up into that sad face as those moonlight eyes fell closed in response to the contact. “Nyx? The primordial goddess of the night?” And the mother of the Keres that were after them. Toby was right to ask. How the fuck did something like this happen?

Toby looked over towards her and she saw that something about this hurt him inside. She set her hand on his shoulder as he nodded. “She’s a mother goddess, one of the first born out of Chaos. She birthed Thanatos, the Keres, Morphia, and a bunch of others. Who the hell would do this to her?”

Outrage on her brother’s face, an angry flush on his cheeks. This was it. This was why Toby had to be involved, she realized and she lifted her hand, resting it against the creature’s face next to her brother’s. Rather than address the air, she addressed Nyx, herself.

“Can you tell us?” she asked, keeping her voice soft and gentle, trying to impart a feeling of safety, much like Jareth had when they were reunited.

When the creature spoke, it was without voice, but it wasn’t telepathically. The words seemed to hang in the air around them, soft as a whisper, soft as a gentle breeze.

 _Yes, children, I am Nyx._ Those sad eyes closed, dimming the light around them. _Daughter of Chaos, sister of Erebus. Mother to many children, and enslaved by my own kind for their selfish purposes. My own children use me to trap the world in night, enslave me, without giving me the rest of the day. But do not grieve for me, children, this is no fault of yours. I can sense your desire to save me._

Sarah felt tears prick her eyes and she swallowed hard, hating the cruel chains hanging around its neck and wrists. She clenched her teeth, looking up at that exquisitely beautiful face. “Is there anything we can do to free you?”

Toby looked towards her, surprised at the question. Then, he lifted his gaze towards her, again, hope in his young eyes. Sarah, however, saw the regret in Nyx’s face, and already knew her answer. Her heart fell.

 _No, though I wish it were so._ Nyx shook its large head, and the stars danced around them. It looked at Sarah, her lips curved into a soft smile. _There are no mortal means which can free me from my bondage. The chains are iron, but the magic wound into them is older than the fair folk._

“There has to be something we can do,” Toby objected, and Sarah watched as he squeezed his eyes shut, and a tear fall down his cheek in the darkness. “They’re trying to destroy the world. If we could free you -”

 _Not destroy,_ Nyx said, and looked towards Sarah. Her face changed, then, something terrible in her eyes, not aimed at her or her brother, but aimed elsewhere. _End. Specifically end the human reign on earth so that the primordials and fair folk can rise once again and live as they once did. They do not understand why we must not do so. That is what must be stopped, children. Then ends of the mortals will not be gentle nor quick. Those who are spellbound by the power forced through the moon will begin to die when that clock reaches zero, if normalcy cannot be reinstated. They will begin to starve, to waste away. Others will go insane and take their own lives._

Sarah trembled, fear gripping her heart as she considered all the people who were enthralled. “How do we stop it?”

 _The hooded figures you have seen with your protected eyes? They are the Cult of the Moon._ Nyx looked between Sarah and Toby, and Sarah thought she saw some fear in her eyes for them. _It was they that are the key to the children who are rushing the end of the world that you know. But there is little time, now, you must leave._

“Oh, but we wouldn’t want them to miss out on all of the fun, would we,” Bunny’s voice behind them gave Sarah and Toby pause and they turned, finding her standing, a smug and sardonic look on her face. She lifted her hands in the darkness, and seemed to pull a cloak from the shadows, wrapping it around herself and smiling at them. She looked so pleased with herself and Sarah felt growing horror in her stomach. “I had thought to ask Toby to join us, when this began. I really like you, after all. Before you called all worried and afraid of what was happening, I seriously wanted you to join us. But I realized that there was no chance that you’d ever turn on your stupid sister. So I guess you’ll both have to die. It really is a pity.”

Toby stared at his girlfriend and Sarah could see the hurt in his eyes. “Bunny? You…?”

She gave him a smile and shrugged as other figures started filing into the dim circle of light, forming a barrier between them and the only real exit of the room. “Surprise, surprise, sweety.”

Sarah reached into her bag, half-glaring at Bunny, that adorable face doing nothing more than pissing her off, now. She brushed her fingers over the few crystals that remained from Jareth and she felt a moment of relief that she hadn’t sacrificed any of their protections on this bitch. 

“You’re how they were tracking us,” Sarah said, her expression dark.

“Oh, no. You did that yourself, Sarah.” Bunny didn’t move closer towards them, her expression holding a terrible amusement. “Everytime you used those nifty doorways of yours, it told us where you were, and figuring out where you went after that was a little imprecise, or you were very good at hiding. We didn’t expect whatever those little explosives you’re carrying, I admit.”

“This really isn’t good,” Sarah said, brushing her fingers over the crystals as they backed slowly towards Nyx, and she kept herself between the hooded figures and her brother. 

“Oh? How on earth can you tell?” Toby snarled, his voice bitter and sarcastic. She knew the shock of Bunny betraying them was still riding and he hadn’t gotten past that, yet. Never mind everything else that had happened in the last twenty minutes or so. He was tense, and she could feel it when she reached back and gave his hand a squeeze, trying to give him what comfort she could.

“Well, you see how they’re surrounding us with weapons? Oh, look,” she said, trying to keep her voice light and amused. “I think that one has a machete.”

He gave a weak chuckle, and she knew he understood what she was trying to do for him. Reassurance wasn’t always her strong suit, but she and Toby understood each other.

Still, these people weren’t attacking them, yet. So she curled her hand around an intact crystal and she recognized which one it was from the sensation of stillness she got from it. She curled her fingers around it, taking a steadying breath and gauging the distance between themselves and the cloaked figures surrounding them.

“Haha, Sarah,” Toby muttered, his voice still quiet and strained. She also heard a thread of anger in it.

As they watched, another figure appeared in the doorway, so large he seemed to fill the frame. It approached the group and Sarah noticed Nyx had gone very silent. She glanced back and saw pain on the face of the titan figure as she looked towards the figure in the doorway. Sarah made certain Toby was shielded, and she met the creature’s gaze, understanding that whoever had come through the door was the one pulling the strings.

The figure was cloaked in darkness, as were the others. It stopped at the edge of the half-circle that surrounded them and drew back the hood of his cloak. He had a fae face, pointed and feral, with high cheekbones and eyes black with a darkness that Sarah thought was trying to swallow her whole. He was as handsome as Jareth, she noted, with long, dark hair, but he seemed to pulse with darkness that came from deep within himself.

He set his hand over his heart and bowed to her, a mocking smile curving his lips, maliciousness in his eyes.

“The Champion of the Labyrinth. When I’d heard that my magic had failed to capture you, I admit that I was most intrigued. How on earth did you resist the moon’s thrall?”

Toby scooted closer to her, his eyes narrowed on the man in front of them. Sarah saw no recognition in his eyes, but suspected that was because this unassuming face reminded him of Jareth as it did her. “Is he one of your lot?” Toby asked, his voice thick with temper. She knew he must be thinking about the previous year, when ‘her lot’ had been trying to kill her for a full week.

“Not that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, before,” Sarah said back, but she didn’t take her eyes off of the creature in front of them. She straightened, looking directly at the fae creature in front of her. “It seems that you have us at a disadvantage. You know who I am, but I don’t know who you are.”

“Oh, I’m hurt,” the fae said in a mocking tone, and he straightened back up, a sneer of derision on his face. “After all, you recognized my sisters and mother, but you can’t recognize me?”

Sarah narrowed her eyes at the man, baring her teeth at him in a parody of a smile, one thought in her mind. Not as hurt as you’re about to be, you sick fuck.


	9. Chapter 9

“Is he one of your lot?” Toby asked, his voice thick with temper. She knew he must be thinking about the previous year, when ‘her lot’ had been trying to kill her for a full week.

“Not that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, before,” Sarah said back, but she didn’t take her eyes off of the creature in front of them. She straightened, looking directly at the fae creature in front of her. “It seems that you have us at a disadvantage. You know who I am, but I don’t know who you are.”

“Oh, I’m hurt,” the fae said in a mocking tone, and he straightened back up, a sneer of derision on his face. “After all, you recognized my sisters and mother, but you can’t recognize me?”

Sarah narrowed her eyes at the man, baring her teeth at him in a parody of a smile, one thought in her mind. Not as hurt as you’re about to be, you sick fuck.

“I am Moros,” the creature in front of them said, a sneer on his face. “Brother to the Keres and son of Nyx.”

He moved back and forth, almost strutting, and she found his strut severely lacking, having gotten to enjoy Jareth’s. So, that’s what he meant by a basis for comparison, she thought, even as she noted the Keres on the outer edge of the circle, looming in the darkness, seeming to look on in anticipation. She swallowed hard, thinking fast and hard, her eyes narrowing at him.

“Some son,” she retorted, glaring at him as though she could set him on fire with her eyes. “Locking your own mother up as a prisoner, using her to your ends. I take it she took issue with your plans and so you decided to be a massive pissmuppet. Imprisoned to force her compliance?” She scoffed, not looking away from him, letting him see her sneering right back at him.

An unfamiliar scent rose around her, one that reminded her of hospitals and retirement homes. The scent of death and dying people. She made sure her brother’s view was impeded, not letting him get ensnared through his eyes. She knew what was happening, after last year, she’d have had to have been an idiot to not realize what that smell meant. She met the creature’s gaze, and she bit the side of her tongue hard to keep her mind clear, as a precaution.

She was squaring off for a fight and she knew it. Her baseball bat was gone, now. She wasn’t certain where she’d left it, probably at Bunny’s office. She did, however, have a can of mace in her pocket and her brass knuckles. At least two crystals care of her lover, which had miraculously survived the fall. Still, she didn’t like these odds at all right now.

After a long moment of that smell growing stronger and agitation growing visible on the man’s face, the scent faded around her. She could see confusion visible on the feral face in front of her. “How intriguing. You can’t be spellbound?”

She gave him a patient, patronizing and unpleasant sort of smile and tilted her head a bit. “Yeah, sorry about that. I had to learn how to protect myself from getting bespelled and ensnared by assholes who would try to convince me to do things I didn’t want to do, like killing myself. The gancanagh was a particularly nasty piece of work. Lucky for me, I’m resourceful, and I have a fae lover who told me how to prevent it.”

“Then I suppose I will have to deal with you the old fashioned way,” he snarled, his eyes narrowing in his fury. Sarah watched as he lifted a hand threateningly towards her, and she took a step back into her brother, pulling a crystal from her bag, holding it behind her back. She watched him gesture for his lackeys to attack them, and she brought her hand up, letting them see the crystal in it, and she gave them a cheeky grin as she let it slip from her fingers.

Shock and rage on his face, but none of them were going to get to her before it hit the ground. She slipped her right hand into the brass knuckles in her back pocket and stepped forward as one of the cult lunged into the circle of five feet to try to catch it, but she stepped forward in the same instance and slammed her fist against their face.

The crystal shattered just a step behind her, as Bunny fell back to the ground, unconscious for the second time in less than an hour. As Jareth had promised, everything outside the five foot diameter froze, their time stopped for the next few minutes. Sarah turned towards her brother, and saw him staring at Bunny’s face, no expression in his eyes at all. She gave him a moment, fishing out her chalk, and she shifted to the wall beside Nyx. She focused hard on the nearest subway station, deciding she didn’t give a rats ass about fighting these damn things, right now. She jabbed the crystal at the impression in the wall, her jaw clenched.

“Well, she’s going to have a headache when she wakes up,” Sarah said, unrepentantly, her tone bitter and unpleasant.

“Good,” Toby said, his voice tense and quiet. Sarah glanced towards him, and gave him a look of understanding. He’d really cared for Bunny, but after this, that was broken. No matter how it ended.

Sarah shook that thought from her mind, lifting her hand and knocking hard on the concrete wall, ignoring the scrape against her knuckles. The wall cracked, opening into what looked like a bathroom, but she’d take it. She could get out and find a place to lay low and contact Jareth. She turned towards her brother, noting she had what amounted to a mental hourglass in her mind right then. 

Five minutes left. 

Her brother looked at her for a long moment, and she thought he’d step towards her, but then his expression changed and he looked up at Nyx for a long moment. When he looked back towards Sarah, there was determination and temper in his eyes. And the infamous Williams stubbornness.

“Go, Sarah.”

“What?” she whispered, shock and horror warring for supremacy inside of her. He couldn’t be serious. How the fuck could she just leave him there?

Toby gave her a frustrated look. “Look, I don’t know how to fight these bastards. You’re the one who knows how to do that. You’re the one who needs to get out of here, and bring the cavalry back so you can save her.”

Save her? She looked at Toby for a long moment and saw him looking up at Nyx, his face serious. He was standing defensively in front of the primordial goddess, and something burned in her throat. She wasn’t certain if it was a laugh, or a sob or just an intense pride and love for her brother.

“Toby, this isn’t safe, and I don’t like leaving you here. I hope you understand that.”

“I know, Sarah. But this is my decision. You’re the one who has to make it through this, Sarah, not me. You need to survive and get Jareth and whatever help he can bring back with him. So you go find a place to hide until he can get to you, okay?” Toby looked scared for a long moment and she dragged her younger brother into a fierce hug, squeezing him as hard as she could. He hugged her back as tight, and she closed her eyes, before pushing him away from her, just a bit.

“Alright,” she said, her voice hard and cross, making sure he got the full weight of her temper. “You’d better survive this, though, Toby Williams. Because, so help me, if Jareth and I have to go to the Underworld to drag you back, we’re going to be pissed.”

As she handed him the last crystal she had, a flashbang, he gave her a grin and laughed. “On a scale of one to ten, how bad do you think it would be if I -” 

“At least a twenty,” she said, not even letting him finish. She gave him a teary smile and looked him in the eyes one last time. Then she lifted her gaze to Nyx, feeling her entire body shaking. “I’ll be back to get you out of here. I promise.”

Nyx gave her a nod, and something close to a smile, her moonlight eyes shining in the darkness. _I will keep him safe_.

That was the best assurance she could hope for. So, Sarah went through the doorway, taking the knob and pushing it closed behind her. Her hands curled into fists on the cold bathroom tile, and she closed her eyes, grinding her teeth so hard her jaw ached from the pressure. 

She’d just left her brother in what amounted to enemy territory, with only a can of mace and a crystal sphere for protection. Tears filled her eyes and she pressed a hand over her mouth and nose to smother her sob, biting her lower lip as hard as she could. She still had some time before the time lock Jareth had given her ended, and she needed to spend that time putting distance between this place and herself. She felt her tears burning her eyes, and she blinked them back, turning towards the exit of the toilet and heading onto the platform, finding it empty of people. The trains had stopped running ages ago, so she took a deep breath, and jumped onto the tracks.

Teaching into her pocket and feeling for the compact, giving a moment to pray that it hadn’t broken in the fall. She pulled it out, flipping it open and heaved a sigh of relief. Two perfect spheres of reflective glass, not a damn crack in the surface.

Before she left the light of the platform, she pulled out the somewhat mangled clock and looked at the clock face, trying to not sob at the lost time. She covered her face with one hand and shoved the clock back into the mostly empty bag. She was about to panic, and she needed to talk to Jareth to calm herself down and not lose her mind. She knew that, but she needed to move, first.

Shoving the compact in her pocket, she secured her grip on the brass knuckles, and started walking along the track, trying to block out what she was doing. She wasn’t abandoning him. She couldn’t think of it like that. He’d told her to go, because he had something he viewed worth doing, but it wasn’t what she had to do. She shoved the crystal knob into her pocket, and started moving into the dark, shining her flashlight ahead of her. 

In the end, her brother was right. This was his decision, she just hoped it wasn’t a bad one. Her adventure last year had been her decision, and it had been filled with terrible decisions. Once she was surrounded by darkness, she found a crevice where she could slip in, and crouched down, holding the flashlight between her knees.

Jareth’s tricks were spent, her baseball bat and the ash wand from her grandmother were gone. The clock was in sorry shape, with only five hours left on it. She didn’t know when her lover was going to arrive, and her brother was still in the enemy stronghold, surrounded by creatures that were going to try to kill him if they found him.

She closed her eyes hard for a long moment, trying to steady her breathing. Then, she rolled the sleeves of her sweatshirt up, her brow furrowing as she opened them.

She didn’t have much in the way of defense, but what she did have was a severe temper and that same stubbornness she’d seen in her brother’s eyes before she’d left him. A can of mace, her brass knuckles. A doorknob which still had faerie magic in it if she needed to repurpose it. She had the clock that told her how much time she had left. She had her knowledge and her wits and a flashlight and a mirror that could breach the veil between worlds.

She set her hand over her chest, and made a decision that she didn’t want to make. If she had to die during this, to save the world, so be it, but she wasn’t going to go quietly into the night. Moros and his lackeys were going to find out exactly how much of a pain in the ass Sarah Williams could be.

She pulled her mirror out again, tapping on the glass, and using the flashlight to illuminate her face. She whispered her lover’s name at the glass, and when his face showed on the surface, it was taught with concentration. She considered for a moment breaking the connection, but she needed the comfort of seeing him for just a moment.

“Sarah, what’s wrong?” he asked instantly, his brow furrowed. “I felt you use the crystal that stills time, what happened?”

“We found their base, fell into it is probably more accurate,” she admitted, and bit her lower lip, trying to keep herself steady, not looking away from his beautiful eyes. “I can’t explain much, right now. But they’ve got Toby, Jareth.”

He went pale, and his hand lifted to the surface, as if he were touching her face. “Sarah -”

“He stayed behind. He could have come with me, but he stayed back.” She swallowed her own panic, looking at him and giving a shaking laugh. “They’ll kill him, Jareth. Please hurry.”

“Sarah, you’d better not be planning anything rash,” he said, his voice laced with quiet warning.

“Haha, you know me,” she said, giving a weak smile, and seeing the temper in his eyes and the worries behind that, she swallowed hard.

“That’s exactly what has me worried, precious,” he said, his voice a low growl that did the same thing to her libido that it had for the last year. “I’m almost done here. It shouldn’t be more than half an hour by your time. I swear to you I’ll be there as soon as I can be. So for now, just stay safe, and don’t do anything reckless.”

She swallowed hard, and nodded her head. “I’m heading back to the apartment. Meet me there, okay?”

He gave her a wild smile, and nodded, and he lifted his fingers to his lips and pressed them against his lips before reaching up towards the mirror’s surface. She closed her eyes, lifting her mirror to her lips, kissing it in return. When she lowered the mirror, again, it had gone dark. So she closed the compact and slipped it back into her pocket, resting her hand protectively over the curve of it.

“Please hurry,” she whispered, biting her lower lip so hard she felt the skin break. Then, she looked down the dark tunnel and continued walking towards home.


	10. Chapter 10

It looked like Sarah had been right. She was safer in the subways. Most of those suffering from the hypnosis were topside, so for now, this was the best place to hide until she reached the station nearest her apartment. As she moved through the dark tunnels, she’d pause at the stations to verify she was on the right path, jogging through the darkness, and keeping her flashlight out to keep watch on the area around her.

Her sense of direction was just fine, even underground. She’d noticed that the year before, when she’d been able to keep going where she needed to go, without aid of the map that showed her where she needed to be. She wasn’t certain how much of that had to do with her being fae touched and how much had to do with her solving the Labyrinth at fifteen. Her instincts had gotten stronger, and usually led her just fine to where she needed to go. It was sometimes uncanny for others, but she could figure out how to get most places just by going with her gut.

She hoped those feelings served her so well, right now.

She’d decidedly pushed her fears into the locked box she used to keep her libido in, deciding it was better to keep those contained, now, rather than letting them consume her. If she didn’t she’d swell on where her brother was, on the fact that time had started moving, again, on her being alone in the dark without much means of protection. On Jareth being in another world, and knowing for sure now that she couldn’t protect him while he was there any more than he could protect her.  
The pace was ground eating, but the trip still took longer than she’d have liked, and she checked her phone, seeing that another hour had slipped by, with her in that seemingly endless dark between stations. When she finally reached the station that was nearest her apartment, she paused, looking at the subway platform, her nerves on edge.

There were people shuffling around the station, moving like zombies from a cheap Romero knockoff. No black cloaks, so that was something, at least. None of the Cult and none of the Keres were down here. Regardless, she kept to the shadows, trying to ignore the nerves that were screaming for her to back track to the previous station. If she had to, she could fight her way through them. She wasn’t certain she wanted to take that risk, especially not knowing what it was going to be like topside.

She also had a moral objection to injuring people who were outside of their own control and not in possession of their faculties. She sighed at herself, deciding that before her next adventure, she needed to learn ways of defending herself and incapacitating others without causing them harm.

With a sigh, she decided she didn’t have a choice. She didn’t think she had the time to waste. She could wait here, but she’d told Jareth she’d be in her apartment. Closing her eyes, she took a steadying breath and then pocketed her flashlight, slipping her fingers back into her brass knuckles and then she hiked herself onto the platform beside the tracks. As she straightened, she saw that the hypnotised people had stopped shuffling around and were looking at her. She went as still as possible, biting her lower lip hard enough it hurt as she squared off, facing them.

She watched them as they approached her, shifting her feet so she was ready to burst through the first group. When they got within arm’s reach, she punched the nearest one in the jaw, and made a break for the stairs, planting her hands on the automated turnstiles and vaulting over them. Hands caught the back of her sweater, so she unzipped it, sacrificing it to the people behind her. They overbalanced, crashing into others and taking them to the ground. She slipped on the stairs when one grabbed her foot, and she smacked her chin on one of the steps, but she lashed out, kicking the offending person in the face.

Back on her feet, and she sprinted up the rest of the stairs, finding herself on the surface again, more of the people between her and her apartment. She popped a can of mace, spraying several people in the face as she shoved past them, apologizing in her head as she went, but she didn’t have time to be nice.

Hands grabbed her, and she used the bag and the heavy clock inside, knocking them away. She didn’t release her grip on it, shouldering it again. As she turned towards her apartment, a hand knocked the glasses off her face and she snapped her eyes shut to protect herself from the magic coming from the moon.

Hands dragged her into an open space, and she was forced onto her back. For a moment, she felt that strange energy crackle along her hands again, from when the door had blasted shut behind them, before they’d found Nyx. Her hand found the doorknob in her pocket, and she hoped that whatever power was still in that was enough to boost whatever was happening with her.

The power burned up through her from where she touched the ground, filling her, and she took a deep breath, imagining all that power exploding out of her. The air around her seemed to displace, and it blew the people who held her back. She cracked her eyes, biting hard on her lower lip as she looked around. A ten foot area around herself had been cleared, and she took a shaking breath, getting onto her hands and knees and keeping her eyes low as she moved across the street, finding a defunct phone booth that was covered in graffiti and slipped inside of it, crouching low to hide.

She stayed there, shaking, feeling scrubbed out and sick, for some time before she noticed the space seemed more cramped than before. A familiar, spicy scent filled her nose and she lifted her eyes, finding Jareth standing in the space with her, his worry evident in his eyes. He took her arms, helping her to her feet.

She wasn’t certain she trusted it was him, yet. She’d been fooled before. “Why are you here,” she asked, staring at him, her hands shaking.

“You know why,” he said, a smile curving his lips. There was relief in his eyes that echoed her own, and his answer told him without a doubt that he was himself. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him as tight as she could manage, tears in her eyes. She bit her lip as his arms went around her just as tight and his breathing hitched against her shoulder for just a moment. “Come along, precious. We need to get off the street.”

When he pushed the door to the phone booth open, the hypnotised people didn’t seem to be able to see her, now. She blinked, looking at all of them, shuffling around the streets, still trying to find her.

“How?” she asked him, looking up into his eyes.

“My magic is overpowering their senses, right now. They can’t see either of us if I don’t let them. That’s how magic works for most people.” His voice was quiet as he spoke, guiding them towards her building. She noted he was still wearing the glasses on his face, and when he looked at her again, he seemed to realize what was missing. “Precious, what happened to your glasses?”

“I lost them,” she admitted. “Coming up, topside, there were a bunch of the hypnotised people waiting. I think they were told to look for me near my apartment. The spares in the bag broke along with most of the crystals you gave me, the vodka bottles for the molotovs, and one of the flashlights. I left the last crystal with Toby, just in case he might need it, because he was staying behind. It’s a flashbang.”

His brow furrowed in worry, and he nodded his head, getting her into the apartment and up to her room. “Help should be arriving soon. I got most of the Goblins awake. Whoever is causing this is going to have a very bad day when that particular force arrives. Once we get to your room, I want you to fill me in. Then we can go get your brother and get him to safety. Is Bunny with him?”

She gave him a pained look, and she nodded her head, heaving a sigh. “Yes, but he didn’t stay back for her. She’s with them, Jareth.”

Rage in her lover’s beautiful eyes. He didn’t say another word, instead he pulled a familiar wooden whistle from his shirt and blew it gently, and the next thing she knew, they were standing in her apartment once again. The door had been smashed open, but nothing inside seemed to have been touched. Her wards had kept her home safe, at least. She doubted that would have been the case if she’d stayed behind.

“It would seem that I missed quite a bit more than you mentioned in your calls.” His voice was cross, temperamental.

She looked at him, took a shaky breath, and when he released her, her knees gave out, and she felt her fears welling up in her heart, tears filling her eyes as she crumpled. She was so sick of pretending to be some kind of badass, she was just a human, and this was too much to bear all at once.

He went to the ground beside her, his eyes sharp. “Are you injured?”

“Smashed my chin on a subway stair, scratches and bruises, a twisted ankle. Nothing serious.” She managed to mumble out, her hands finding the sleeves of Jareth’s soft shirt, curling her fingers into it tight. His hand went into her hair, tugging her close, holding her as she finally let herself break down for a little while. There was no time for this, she reminded herself, but the steady pulse of his heart beneath her cheek was soothing, and helped her calm faster than anything else.

“None of that, precious. None of that,” Jareth said, lifting her face between his palms, his thumbs brushing her tears away. “Be strong for just a little while longer, and then you don’t have to pretend anymore. You can come to the castle for a few hours, and we’ll find better ways to work these feelings out, yes?”

She bit her lower lip so hard she felt the skin tear. He was right, she told herself, taking a steadying breath. She could be weak, later. There’d be time for this another time. She closed her eyes, breathing his scent, letting it chase away the last of her fear.

“That’s it,” he murmured with approval. His hand stroked down her back with tender care, and then he got to his feet again, easing her to her own. Once they were standing, he guided her into her small bathroom, closing the door behind them. Setting her on the toilet, he grabbed a towel, and wet it in the sink.

She sat still, nursing her heart wounds while he gently mopped her face clean. “He could have stayed with me. He could have come with me. He wanted to make sure they didn’t hurt Nyx. He’s already past Bunny. I don’t know what he’ll do when this is all over, but he’s done with her.”

“As he damn well should be,” Jareth said, his voice angry. “Nyx, you say. That was unexpected, but explains a great deal. Those in the Underground haven’t seen Aether and Hermera said she couldn’t fix the problem in the Underground until the Above was righted.”

She relaxed slowly, pulling the bag around herself. Pulling the clock back out of the bag, she set it on the back of the toilet and looked at it for a long moment. Her shoulders hunched a bit. Now that she wasn’t moving and running on pure adrenaline and cocaine, she felt the aches and pains in her body keenly. “I told you that Toby identified the Keres. We’re also up against a Cult of the Moon, who are the ones who I presume helped trap Nyx in the building we found her in. Moros, her son, is spearheading the whole thing.”

“How did you even end up there?” He asked, his voice stern, and she gave him a smile that she knew looked sick, but there wasn’t anything she could do about that.

“We went up to the roof to check where the problem was. My original plan was to aim a doorway at the roof, there, if we had a clear line of sight. We ended up trapped on the roof by cult members and the Keres. The only way to get out of it was a blind jump through a doorway. I used one of your flashbangs - I see what you mean by needing to brace myself. Even with my eyes shut, that burned. Made the doorway into the roof, and we ended up inside the stronghold.”

Jareth swore, his hand pushing through his hair, a familiar temper clear on his face. “Sarah -”

“That’s how we ended up finding Nyx. Iron chains, with some archaic magic twisted up in the metal in a way I didn’t even know was possible. I landed on the bag - Toby and I got lucky that we were just bruised and sore from the fall. We could have easily broken something.” She looked up at him. “I blasted the doorway shut behind us, but apparently the doors are how they were tracking us all night. I didn’t even know that was possible.”

“Of course it’s possible, Sarah. Your doorways leave a magical residue behind. Not faerie magic, human. Did you use one of my spells to close the door?”

“No. Something else happened. I felt...something.” She looked up at him, and set her hand out, palm up. She closed her eyes, feeling that power and drawing it up again. It moved like warm taffy, this time, as if previously the speed was due to her fear. When it reached her hand, whatever it was sparked on her palm, and she saw his brows jump up in surprise. “It’s how I got away from those hypnotised humans. They were dragging me somewhere.”

He heaved a sigh, looking weary. “You manage to give me worries that I didn’t even realize I needed to worry about.”

She gave a laugh that sounded slightly hysterical. “So, if we’re keeping track, I’ve got somewhere around three groups of hostiles trying to kill me right now.”

“Try four, precious,” he said, his tone tart. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry I wasn’t precise enough,” she said, trying to consider the nit picking and temper as banter, even though she felt bone-weary, cranky, and snappish.

He gave her one of those looks of patient irritation and looked into her eyes. As she watched, he pulled his gloves off his hands, and his fingers brushed her chin. The tingle that accompanied the touch made her sigh and the pain she’d barely noticed went away.

“We’ll get Toby to safety, precious. I promise.” She felt the magic in his words and she lifted her face, looking at him. Then, she nodded her head, taking a steadying breath. Leaning towards him, again, she rested her forehead against his chest and closed her eyes.

“Toby’s the one who knows the Greek myths. Not me.” She gave a half-panicked laugh. “All I know is Moros is one of Nyx’s son. Apparently the asshole son.”

“The personification of the inevitability of death,” Jareth said, his voice quiet. “Definitely the asshole son, precious. He’s been a bit of a running joke in the Underground, because most of us have no fear of death to begin with, we’ll surrender to Tartarus eventually. The fae take great pleasure in literally laughing in the face of anything claiming to be inevitable.”

She heaved a sigh and Jareth gathered her close, again, holding onto her. “This whole thing has been shit.”

He nodded his head in agreement. “I’ve got goblins mustering, led by your friends. I would have ensured I had more, but I also knew I needed to get back soon. I worry when you’re left to your own devices for too long. I worry you’ll do something irreparably foolish, and that I’ll end up having to make that trip to the Underworld to bring you home.” As he spoke, his voice was rich with amusement and she knew he was trying to lighten her mood, but she was still too frustrated and stressed and powerless to care about that.

“You don’t get to judge me, anymore, you literally looked up at the moon without protection, even knowing that something weird and dangerous was going on with it,” she growled at him, pushing him away from her and against the door, glaring at him a bit.

He looked surprised by the action, and he gave her a passifying smile that only served to prick her temper more. “Most things can’t spellbind me, precious.”

“Did that stop it from happening this time, your majesty?” she snapped, glaring at him.

“Why are you trying to make this into a fight?” There was bewilderment in his face, and she just remembered him standing there on the balcony in her dream, his face turned towards the sky. She remembered the look in his eyes before he left to go get the treasures. She remembered the look of grim determination on her brother’s face when he said he’d stay back with Nyx. 

She gave him another shove, the fear of how much was going to be lost if they failed choking her. “Because I’m scared, Jareth. I’ve been scared for days, but you keep acting like I’m just a recalcitrant child running blindly through the world like I was when I was fifteen! Sometimes I make stupid choices, but they’re still my choices to make!”

“Sarah -” he started, but she reached to smack him in the chest and he caught her wrists, holding her steady.

“I’m angry and I’m scared and I had to let my brother make a choice that I’m scared was stupid, because it was his damn choice to make! I had to send you away, even though I needed you so bad that I ached, because we would need those things if it was something as bad as Crom! I didn’t want you to leave! I wanted you here with me! Every time you leave, I’m scared I won’t see you again, that you’ll disappear and I’ll never get to say -”

She stopped herself, staring up into his startled face. Her hands shook and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold in the force of her feelings. She curled her hands into the front of his shirt, holding on until they ached, feeling her bones strain under the pressure.

“Sarah,” he said, his voice very quiet. “I’ll always come back. I’ll never leave you alone like that.”

“Why?”

He gave her a bemused smile. “You know why.”

She shook her head, tears running down her face. “Fae can die, too. Even if it’s hard to do. You could die, and if you’re on that side, I wouldn’t know until I tried to call you through the mirror. You take that whistle and make every time I see you in your world on your terms! It’s not fair! It’s not -”

She bit the words back, sobs shaking her body. His hands cupped her face with a gentle touch and he smiled down at her, his expression soft, his brilliant blue eyes shining at her.

“Of the two of us, shouldn’t I be the one who is worried about that? You’ve always done your best to make certain I lose my cool whenever you’re on one of your adventures. You’ve been doing it for over twenty years, now. I know you’re scared, but we made it through hell before. We’ll make it through it again.”

“I don’t want to die and leave you alone, either, Jareth.” she whispered, closing her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks. When she opened her eyes, meeting his spellbinding gaze, she knew he was offering her a chance to step back onto common ground they’d walked on this last year. But if this adventure had taught her anything, it was that she couldn’t afford to leave words unsaid.

“Why?” He said, his voice quiet, a small smile curving his lips.

She knew what words he expected. She almost opened her mouth and said them, but as she looked up into his handsome face, she felt her feelings choke her and she closed her eyes, a tear falling down her cheek. “Because, you idiot. I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a bit of a break while I write the drafts and edit the final five chapters of this story. Thanks for your patience.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains SMUT.

Jareth stood silent in the small space with her, and after a moment of that silence, she wondered if she’d said the words at all. She looked up at him, finding that he was looking at her with an unfamiliar intensity in his eyes. Those eyes were getting wider and wider, as if the words she’d spoken were still filtering in, as if he couldn’t quite believe what she’d said. He sucked in a sharp breath through his nose as their gazes met. His hands were rough on her arms, a moment later, as he turned her and her back hit the door of her bathroom hard enough that it rattled her a little bit.

She sucked in a surprised breath, finding him looking down at her, still, that intensity brightening his eyes. His skin seemed brighter, hell he looked ready to burst from everything inside of him.

“What…” he said, his tone not holding the intensity or emotions that his eyes showed. “Did you just say?”

His voice sounded rough against her ears. His face stayed inches from her as he stared at her. Something about his expression reminded her of the fragile hope she’d seen there a year ago when she’d refused to leave him. She blinked, not certain how to answer him. His change in demeanor told her that he’d heard her. She lifted her hands, curling them into his shirt and glared up at him, grinding her teeth.

“You heard me, you jerk,” she mumbled, feeling heat on her cheeks.

“Maybe I did,” he confirmed, and one of his hands found her cheek, the touch so gentle and hesitant as his face got closer to hers, not letting her look away. “Maybe I need to hear it again. Maybe I’m not certain my mind isn’t playing tricks on me.”

She swallowed hard, her fingers tightening in the soft fabric of his shirt. She heard his growl, low in his throat and her eyes closed, a quiet whimper escaping her. Bastard knew what that damn sound did to her, she thought, opening her eyes and meeting his intense gaze once again. She released his shirt and lifted her hands, curling them into his starlight hair, not being gentle at all as she used it to drag his lips to her own, kissing him as hard as she could. He gave a quiet rumble in answer, and the hand on her arm tightened before he pushed her back just enough that she couldn’t reach him any more.

His eyes were dark, blue irises almost swallowed by his pupils, and they again reminded her of the look they’d held a year ago. They’d known for a year how the other had felt, but neither had dared to step away from the easy ground they stood on by saying those words. It was something understood, but never spoken, because saying those would change things and they both knew it. She’d just consciously broken that, admitted to feelings aloud that neither had been willing to commit to. Now his eyes burned with familiar hope, and her heart felt like it was trying to leap out of her chest to reach him.

“I love you, Jareth,” she whispered again, and his eyes fluttered closed for a moment as if the words had stricken a mortal wound on his heart. Her fingers left his hair and she brushed them over his cheek, thumb brushing up the bridge of his nose and smoothing the crease that had formed between his brows until it relaxed. As she stroked her fingers through his starlight hair, his eyes opened and that intensity and hunger was aimed directly at her. A moment after she registered his expression, his lips crushed hers, his arms around her so tight it was hard to breathe.

She let out a terrified moan, lips parting under the onslaught, clinging to him. He hadn’t given the words back, she noted, but he was doing a damn good job of distracting her from that fact. She felt the door at her back, his weight pinning her against it, freeing his hands as he started pushing the thin material of the tank top she wore up her sides. His touch was electric as ever, and she suspected he was healing her bruises and scrapes with each brush of his fingers.

As his tongue was getting reacquainted with the further reaches of her mouth, she felt one of his hand curve around until the thumb brushed over her nipple and she released a strangled sounding moan against his lips. Using her grip on him, she hitched herself up, lifting her thighs around his hips and drawing a moan from them both as his erect length pressed against her. The hand on her breast tightened, almost painful, before the other curved down over her ass, hitching her up against the door a little better, his fingers flexed against her curves.

He drew back, still kissing close, but the intensity in his eyes was quickly replaced by wonder, and when he spoke, there was a low growl in his tone. “There are my right words,” he uttered against her lips, and caught her lower lip between his teeth, just hard enough that it stung. She gave a quiet whimper and he answered the sound with a rough laugh. She felt his fingers at the fly of her jeans and for a moment, she thought they shouldn’t be getting distracted by each other, right now. Before she could speak, could give voice to those thoughts, his gaze met hers again, that pale ring of blue searching her eyes for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was quieter, almost wistful.

“I love you, too.”

She stared at him, wide-eyed, for a long moment. Then she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, dragging his lips to hers in another searing kiss. She forgot the clock on the back of her toilet, ticking away. Her legs tightened around him, feeling the solid warmth of his cock pressed between her legs and she almost cried from the feelings choking her. She put her arms around his shoulders, holding onto him just as tight as she could. He gave a quiet sound, and his hips rolled against hers, the heat of him pressed between her thighs drawing a rough sound from her.

She wanted to hear him say it again, but she also didn’t want to stop kissing him right then. She figured she’d waited a year to hear those words cross his lips in the first place. It wouldn’t kill her to wait a little bit longer. So she tangled her hands into his hair, rocking back against him and gasping against his lips. 

He broke the kiss and his hand curled in her hair as he forced her head back. She felt his teeth scrape against the skin of her neck and she cried out trying to hold him there. He growled against her skin and she squirmed drawing another low, feral snarl from his throat. When he finally drew back, it was so he could set her down and push her pants out of his way. His movements were sharp and impatient, and she shared in that. She toed out of her shoes, kicking them aside and set about pulling his shirt over his head as he dropped to his knees in front of her.

He looked up at her, and there was something about the look in his eyes thrilled her. He let her have his shirt, releasing her long enough that she could pull it over his head. Before she tossed it away, he pressed between her thighs, until she was sitting on his shoulders and his mouth pressed against her. He kissed her folds like he was starving for her, his tongue slipping against her and sounds of hunger escaping him. He sounded like it had been years since he’d last tasted her.

She wondered, for a brief moment, how long it had actually been for him. It had been hours for her, almost twenty since she’d last seen him. Her heart twisted as she thought about every time he’d come to visit her, how explosive things always were between them. Then, his fingers pressed against her, pressed inside of her and her thoughts were heaved from her head again.

His arm at her waist supported her as he devoured her, the stroke of his tongue against her, driving her half-mad with want for him.

“Jareth, please,” she gasped, squirming against his mouth. His grip on her didn’t allow her much movement, which was causing her intense frustration. So she pushed her hands into his hair and held on as he drove her out of her head.

A quiet growl rumbled up from where he kissed her and she sputtered as it vibrated against her. A cry escaped her and she threw her head back, smacking it against the door behind her hard enough she thought she saw stars. Before she could focus on anything, he started to curl the fingers pressed inside her, hitting something almost unbearably wonderful. She sputtered, her hands scrambling against the door, trying to find something to grip, her nails scraping against the wood.

A few more strokes of his fingers and tongue and she came, hard, and he still didn’t pull away, his tongue running against her, pressing inside as if he were tasting her release. She felt her cheeks burn with a flush and wondered if she shouldn’t be mortified that even after being his lover for a year, he could still make her blush.

Then, he shifted, and that was when she realized he must have been using his magic to keep her upright. One of his hands was stroking his length, and his lips were covered with moisture from her release. She felt her blush deepen, but she reached for him, her breath shuddering out of her.

He shifted, set his hands against the door as he stood up. When his hips rested between her thighs, his arms were under them, helping support her. He was looking at her, his expression warm and dark and wonderful and she laced her fingers together behind his neck, dragging him towards her into a hard kiss. She felt the tip of his cock brush her folds, and a whimper escaped her. He didn’t press closer, and eventually, she released him from the kiss, looking at him, to try to convey her needs. He just stood there, kissing close to her, her thighs hooked over his arms, held up against her bathroom door.

“Say it again.” His voice was a growl that burned through her, and his eyes looked up into hers with that intensity they’d held since she’d said the words. She brushed her fingers through his downy soft hair, meeting his gaze. A breath sighed out of her, and she wrapped her an arm around his shoulders, her free hand coming to caress his face.

“I love you, Jareth,” she whispered again, not looking away from his eyes, watching something else flare in them. She felt him start to press inside of her and her head fell back against the door again with a dull thunk. His lips brushed against her throat, and she gave a quiet whimper as he pressed deeper and deeper until she felt his hips pressed against her.

“Yes,” he hissed against her skin, that dark pleasure in his voice thrilling her. “Yes.”

“Please,” she begged, biting her lower lip and pressing closer to him, squirming, straining towards him, begging for more. When she lifted her head to look at him, his eyes were shining up at her with a look of such fierce devotion and love that it humbled her. Her breath shuddered from her and she lifted a hand to touch his face, looking into his beloved eyes.

They didn’t say another word. He pressed his lips against her throat, over her pulse, and she moaned as he pulled from her, a sound of disappointment that she couldn’t contain. She felt the sharpness of his teeth as he smiled against her skin a moment before he filled her again in one hard stroke. She threw her head back, crying out in need again, and he answered her cry with a deep snarl.

Pretense of gentleness went out the window. He started fucking her, each thrust of his hips against hers hard and deep and she heard the door behind her crack under the force of his thrusts. She loved it too well to care, her nails biting into his shoulders, drawing another snarl from him as his teeth pricked against the skin of her neck in reaction.

He heaved her over the edge of release several times, and each time she came to, she found him looking at her with that same dark pleasure in his eyes from watching her come, always watching her as he claimed her. When he finally thickened within her, she gave a quiet sound of desperation. He filled her hard and came, and the doorway behind her finally broke under the pressure. His arms around her were the only thing that kept her from falling through the hole they’d just made in her bathroom door.

She clung to him, not caring about that, just yet, meeting his gaze, wide-eyed and gasping with pleasure. He slipped to his knees, still holding her, and some of the door crumbled inward, cardboard filler in her hair.

A strangled giggle escaped her and she glanced up at the hole in the door, the cracks around it. There went her security deposit, she thought without one whit of guilt. When she looked at Jareth again, there was an unrepentant smirk on his face. She laughed a bit, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him as tight as she could, a gusty sigh escaping her.

His cheek twitched, and she wondered if he wasn’t restraining a laugh of his own. Then, he sat back, cupping her cheeks between his hands, looking at her with a smile. All those sharp teeth showed and she bit her lower lip, trying to steady herself. “As much as I’d like to ask what thought caused that delightful little giggle, I think we’d best get our clothing back on.”

She searched his eyes for a moment, reality catching up and she heaved a sigh and nodded her head. “Pity,” she mumbled, but she lifted herself off of him, biting back a moan from the loss. When she found her tank top and squirmed into it, she saw her lover still crouched there, a smirk curling his lips.

“Tell me about it, precious,” he murmured in agreement and then pulled his pants into place. “If the timing had been better for that confession of yours, we wouldn’t have been leaving my room for several days at best.”

She paused to consider that and glanced towards him as she pulled her jeans back on. She hesitated for a moment before speaking, and when she finally did, her voice was quiet.

“I’m sorry I waited so long to say it.”

He shook his head, pulling his shirt on, then he took her chin in one hand, holding her eyes captive with his. “Sarah, if it takes something like this to push us into actually opening up with one another, so be it. I suspect we’re both far too stubborn for anything else to work. Regardless of that, it’s still true. I love you. Now, let’s go save the world one more time, hmm?”

She gave him a shaky laugh and he looked like she’d rewarded him with far more than that. “Let’s go kick Moros’s ass, and get my baby brother back in one piece while we’re at it.”

“Oh, naturally. You preferred the sword, yes?”

Her lips twitched and she turned to face him, her eyes shining up at him. She reached and took his hand, closing her eyes and bringing a picture of the building where she’d left her brother, the view of the roof from Bunny’s office building. When she opened her eyes, he was giving her a feral sort of grin that she loved and it made her heart stumble and land in a heap.

“When this is all quite finished, we really must explore these new tricks you’re learning, precious. So much potential.” She stood there, mute in surprise, a blush rushing to her cheeks as he grabbed her bag and shoved the clock in it. A second later, his arm wrapped tight around her waist, and they disappeared on the spot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rest in Pieces - Sarah's bathroom door


	12. Chapter 12

Jareth’s aim was closer to where she’d intended to land with her own doorway, Sarah noted. They ended up on the roof, near that swirling vortex of power. As he set her on her feet, both of them turned towards it, and Sarah noted that her lover’s face had lost all traces of humor. He moved towards that swirl of magic, and he lifted a hand towards it as if to touch it. The air around them swelled with the scent of ozone.

“You’re right about this being old magic. Some of the oldest, in fact. Chaos magic if I’m not mistaking.” He flinched a bit as the magic cracked against his gloved palm. “Makes sense, given who we are dealing with. I can break it, but it’s not going to be easy. We might have to see if we can just drag the fight out until my forces actually arrive.”

“Toby might still have that flashbang of yours,” she admitted. “So I might be able to distract them while you break the magic holding Nyx. Here’s hoping this doesn’t go tits up, yeah?”

“It had best not, precious. We’ve got a bit of unfinished business that I think it’s time we officially took care of.” She looked back at him, somewhat perplexed, and saw there was a smirk on his face. That helped her relax and she gave him a smile that she knew had the edge of a smirk as well. “I asked you to marry me a year ago. I think it’s about time we made good on it, don’t you?”

Her heart twisted in her chest, but she smiled at him and nodded in agreement. She stepped towards him and steadied herself. “Alright, if they can trace the residual human magic from my doors, how long do we have before they notice the magic from your teleports?”

“That depends if they’ve started tuning into faerie magic, now. You were their concern before, with good reason. If they realize that I’m involved, however, that could be quite soon.” He glanced around, then headed towards a door that granted building access and she followed close behind. “So, in the meantime, let’s get off the roof so that we aren’t caught in the open.”

She nodded her head, and caught up with him, her hand finding his own. He paused for a moment, looking at her, then at their hands and he gave hers a tight squeeze. Then, they moved at a brisk walk towards the door. They didn’t talk after they entered, moving down the stairs, silent as they were able to in the tight stairwell. Jareth stopped at each floor, touching the door before he shook his head and they would move on. Then, about five floors from the roof, he nodded. She watched as he set his hand on the electric code pad and the smell of ozone filled her nose. A second later, it sparked in an unpleasant sort of way and he pushed the door open.

That was a neat trick, she thought, but she kept that to herself. The hallway was long and nondescript, but Jareth seemed to know where he was going. His fingers brushed against the wall, his concentration intense. When they reached a door, he stopped again, and turned towards her. With a gesture, a crystal rested on his fingers, and he took her hand, setting it onto her palm. When her hand closed around it, the crystal was gone and in its place was the weight of a familiar sword.

He didn’t explain, and she didn’t need him to. There was a chance that she’d need it, so he was making certain that she’d have it before it became necessary.

She stretched a bit, rocking her head back and forth, ignoring the soreness of her muscles. Holding the sword low and ready, she gave him a nod and he pushed the door open. The room was as dark as before, but Sarah could just make out the figure of Nyx on the far side, her hair twinkling with stars, her moonlight eyes hooded. 

A mocking voice rose, breaking the silence in the room and Sarah looked towards it. “You cannot hide forever, Toby Williams.”

Moros, Sarah noted, her lips pulling taut into a frown. At least this confirmed that her brother hadn’t been caught, she thought. She cast her eyes around the room, as they adjusted to the darkness. She couldn’t see the Keres or the members of the cult, nor could she see her brother. She could, however, see Moros pacing the dark corners.

“What do you think a human can do against me? I’ve trapped earth in never ending night, humankind is under my thrall. I’ve the Keres on my side. I am infinitely more powerful than anything you’ve ever dreamed. Who do you presume is going to save you, now? Your sister? She ran off and abandoned you, here. Join my side, and you’ll serve in the reborn Earth.”

Sarah stepped away from Jareth, feeling his hand catch her arm to stop her. She lifted hers towards him, indicating that he should stay back in the shadows. They needed a distraction, and to drag this out until reinforcements arrived. She took a deep breath, putting a cocky grin on her face that was at odds with everything going on in her heart.

“Yeah, actually,” she said, drawing Moros’s attention towards her as Jareth crept through the shadows, moving closer to Nyx and where she figured her brother was hiding. “I kinda figured I would.”

Moros whipped around towards her, and she felt a deep gratification at the shock she saw in his eyes. “How did you get back in here?!”

“Well, when I found out you all were tracking my doorways, I realized I had to use the time honored way of traveling. I walked. That’s a pain in the ass, by the way.”

“A pity, then, that Bunny spoiled that method of tracing you. I’ll deal with her failure on that, later. Nice trick with the crystal, by the way. They told me you had flashbangs and some sort of explosive. However, no one expected the time freeze. A gift from your lover, I suppose? Not many creatures have that particular talent.”

“What can I say,” she said, shrugging her shoulder and giving him a nasty grin. “I’d hate to be predictable.”

“And now you return with a magic sword of Celtic origin,” Moros snarled. “Full of surprises, aren’t you.”

She gestured with it in a grand manner, ending with the sword pointed at him. “A bequest from my grandmother. Or a burden, I suppose. I’m still learning what she meant by that. Bequest and burden. Maybe this is what she meant. Every few months, something like you shows up and needs my attention. Honestly, I’m getting pretty tired of it.”

“Well, child, you could have just looked at the moon with the rest of your kind and experienced a bliss like you’d never felt before,” Moros said, his voice still holding that syrupy sweetness of someone trying to coax her. “It’s not too late to give up, you know?”

“Oh, I looked at it,” she said. “What I saw brought no peace to me, and I promise, the bliss you’re offering is nothing compared to what I felt half an hour ago.”

He stopped, that surprise in his eyes once again before his gaze turned cold and calculating. “Ahh, that’s right. You can’t be spellbound. I wonder how true that really is.”

“It’s perfectly true, Moros,” Jareth’s voice came from across the room from her, and the creature whipped around, finding the Goblin King standing there with a patient sort of smile on his face. “She faced off against Crom Cruach and shook off his attempted spellbinding with little effort. Ensnaring Sarah Williams though her eyes is essentially impossible at this point.”

Moros went still, and seemed as though he wasn’t certain who he wanted to put his back towards. “The Goblin King, even. I suppose this shouldn’t be a surprise, given her little crystal toys. I knew you took a greater interest than most in mortal affairs, but I never suspected that you’d taken a mortal lover. And one who is such an immense pain in the ass, no less.”

A laugh left her lover, and Sarah met his gaze past the bastard between them. “I assure you, you haven’t an idea of half the places she’s a pain. She rather excels at finding new and surprising ways to cause injury.”

Her lips twitched at the tease, the reminder that she’d kneed him in the balls. She gave him a bitingly sweet smile, baring her teeth at him. “Just returning the favor, Jareth.”

They continued circling, until Moros had his back towards the door, and he gave them a smirk before turning on his heel and bolting for it quicker than Sarah could track. She and Jareth went after him, but he had disappeared through the doorway into the darkened hallway before they could catch him.

“Damn,” Jareth muttered, looking out the exit. Then, he pushed the door shut, and turned towards the room. “Toby, if you’re still in here, now would be a good time to show yourself.”

He is here, Goblin King, Nyx’s voice echoed in the room, and the shadows seemed to melt.

Sarah saw her brother standing there and her breath heaved out of her. She ran across the space, wrapping her brother in a tight hug. He gave her a grin, returning the hug and lifting her off the ground. After he set her back down, he looked up at Nyx. 

“We’ve been talking,” he said and his grin was all mischief. Then, his face was a little more serious. “Can we get her out of these chains? It seems like she’s not the only one that has been trapped by Moros for this.”

“Aether and Hemera?” Jareth asked, approaching them. He looked up at Nyx, stopping a short distance away from her. Sarah watched as he lifted a hand and rested it against his chest before bowing, deep and respectful. “I worried that might be the case. We couldn’t locate them in the Underground.”

Nyx gave them a tired smile. If I am freed, I can free them in turn. Though I admit that this is not the typical order of things with them and me. 

“You know he’s probably off getting reinforcements, right,” Sarah said, keeping her voice quiet. “So we need to work fast, before he gets back.”

Jareth gave her a broad grin that was mostly sharp humor and with a roll of his hand, a crystal appeared on his fingers. He offered it to her without a word and when she looked in, she saw goblins on the streets of New York. Some of them were tangling furiously with the Keres, incapacitating cult members and generally tearing across the city. She swallowed hard, eyes wide.

“How widespread are they?” She’d never realized how much temper and rage existed in those small creatures, before.

“You’re expecting creatures who do not bend to the will of human logic to move logically. This is the centerpoint. They’re spread out everywhere this is an issue, but eventually the force will arrive here. Moros will not escape retribution for what he’s done, regardless of the force he is able to muster.” Jareth’s expression was terrible and unpleasant in the darkness, lit from the crystal in her hand. Something about that expression was a relief, even if it chilled her. “The goblins are not pleased with what was done to them as a means of testing this theory of his.”

Sarah winced a bit at the darkness in his tone, but shrugged it off. The damn fool hadn’t just stepped on the goblin’s toes, she remembered. Many more were going to be seeking payment for this insult. For now, she had to keep her main concern where it needed to be, and that was on human matters. She could still hear the faint ticking of the clock in her bag and steadied herself.

Jareth ignored her reaction, turning back towards Nyx and Toby. He gave the primordial goddess of night a smile that was a little too bright and cheerful, and Sarah realized that Jareth probably had a bit of goblin in him, too. “Now, Toby. Let’s see about freeing your new friend, hmm?"


	13. Chapter 13

Whatever Jareth was doing with his magic behind Sarah made her nose itch, she noted. She was keeping an eye on the door while he worked to free Nyx. The room smelled heavily of ozone, the air charged like before a thunderstorm. He kept a fair distance from Nyx as he worked, standing in the middle of the dark room. Moros had left the room some time ago, and Sarah wasn’t sure what to think that the nightmares in the dark weren’t coming after them yet.

Toby stayed next to Nyx, looking awkward and nervous, as though he weren’t certain what to do with himself. Jareth had long since put the glasses she’d lent him back on her. It was an odd relief to have the weight of them on her face again, even if what Jareth said was true about her being able to break spellbinding. She didn’t like not having them to protect her from other things.

Right now, they gave her the unique advantage of being able to see the way the magic Jareth was using flowed around the room in general, and in particular, her brother.

She hadn’t noticed it, before, because she hadn’t seen her brother share a space with so much magic, before. She wasn’t certain if he was absorbing the magic that got close to him or if something else was happening, but Jareth seemed to understand what was happening before she did.

He stopped casting, and the scent dampened in the room, fading to almost nothing. As Jareth lowered his arms, he turned towards Toby. “Very interesting indeed,” he mused, and Sarah heard the sharp breath he took. “I need you to grab the chains, Toby.”

“What?” Toby seemed startled at being addressed.

“Grab hold of the chains,” Jareth said, again, his voice that patronizing patient tone he got when he thought she was being obtuse. “I’m going to channel my magic through you to break them.”

Startled, Sarah gave a half turn to look at them. Her lover’s smile in the darkness was sharp, pointed, and she almost understood what Jareth was suggesting. “Jareth -?”

“Rhiannon always was a clever woman. Sending that clock to him? Setting this journey in front of him, too? He has magic, precious. Not like mine or yours, not human or faerie.” He laughed, a dark and pleased sound. “He has goblin magic. I wouldn’t have noticed it, before, but he’s leeching off my magic the same way the goblins do. Looks like you’re right, Sarah. There is some goblin in your baby brother.”

Toby looked towards her, mystified, but he grabbed the chains as Jareth had ordered him to. She could see confusion and panic in his eyes.

She decided she’d need to get more information on that later, and turned back towards the door as a hand came through and punched her in the face. Sarah staggered back a step but managed to keep her feet, lifting a hand and prodding her cheeks. Lifting her gaze, she saw Bunny draw back that cloak that had camouflaged her in the darkness. Rather than addressing her opponent, she addressed Jareth.

“Alright, then, lover. But I have to ask that you move with a sense of purpose, because it looks like it’s turning into a party.”

She heard a pointed expletive from him and the scent of ozone swelled in the room once again.

Sarah planted her feet, not bothering with the sword. Not for this. Bunny was human, and even if she was part of a cult of magic users, Sarah had magic of her own. She shouldn’t need the sword to handle her.

The cloak dropped behind Bunny and she stepped towards Sarah. Sarah stepped back and they started to circle one another, watching each other closely. Sarah felt that rush of power that started at her feet, running up through her body. It crackled along her fists, and Sarah flexed her hands for a moment, drawing Bunny’s gaze.

“No brass knuckles this time, meddling bitch?”

“I could put them back on, if you’d prefer,” Sarah quipped with a shrug. “But to be honest, against you, that feels like overkill.”

The crash of metal to concrete was almost deafening behind her, but she moved towards it until her back was to Jareth’s. In the darkness, she saw more forms moving into the room. She couldn’t give her back to those figures, and trusted no one more than Jareth to cover her ass in a fight.

“Toby,” Jareth said, his tone conversational. “You’ve still got that little parting present your sister gave you, yes?”

“Yeah,” Toby said, and she heard him rummaging around a bit.

“I think that particular trick might be of use, now.” That sentence was the only warning she had to shut her eyes, and she did seconds before she heard the crystal shatter on the ground. The flashbang seared her retinas through her eyelids, but Jareth had grabbed the three of them and a moment later, fresh air rushed over her face. When she opened her eyes, they were back on the roof. The cool evening breeze was pleasant on her face, and Sarah felt the faintest trickle of rain starting to fall. Looking up, she saw the sky was still dark, but clouds had rolled in to cover the sky as well. Specifically, covering the moon.

She looked at Jareth, wide-eyed. “It’s raining?”

“I called in a few favors before I came back,” he admitted, and he was smiling down at her. 

“That looks different,” Toby said, breaking away from them and moving towards the center of the roof. Sarah turned, finding her brother was right. She looked towards Jareth in askance. He nodded in agreement and they joined her brother. A moment later, Nyx stepped forward as well, and Sarah watched as Nyx lifted her hand and set it against the power. It crackled against her palm as it had, Jareth’s, but then her hand seemed to sink beyond the outer layer of power and her eyes closed.

Grief and sadness on her face when moonlight eyes opened again.

“The chain was sucking magic from Nyx to bind the moon. When I broke the chain, Nyx’s magic was removed from the equation.” His tone was calm and matter of fact as he spoke, almost instructional. “What remains are the others who are captive. Selene wasn’t pleased when she found out. Especially since she was ensnared by the magic as well.”

Sarah looked at it for a long moment, and wanted to touch those tangled streams of magic as well. Still, remembering how she’d blindly stumbled around and almost ended up dead because of a lack of knowledge, she didn’t quite dare. “So, that means the other two are here, too?”

Nyx’s hand withdrew and she nodded. Then, she turned towards Toby. Your magic is still needed, if you will aid me in saving them.

Toby looked afraid for a moment, and didn’t answer at first. As Sarah watched him, his hands curled into fists, and then he turned and looked at Sarah. “You two will have our backs?”

“Of course,” Jareth answered, and Sarah felt his hand come to rest on her lower back as he stood beside her. His tone was grim and serious. “But regardless of that, be cautious.”

Toby gave a bit of a grin. “Well, I mean. I’m not Sarah.”

Sarah scowled at her brother, but the response drew a laugh from her lover. As Toby linked hands with Nyx and they headed back inside, Sarah noted for the first time that the primordial goddess of the night was now the approximate size of a human woman. She waited until after they were gone before she turned towards Jareth

“So, the whole giant lady of the night thing?”

“She’s not human, precious. She’s able to manipulate her physical form, similarly to how I can.” Jareth grinned at her a bit. “Though, I imagine it’s a bit like wearing clothing or shoes that are just a little too small. It will, however, make it easier for her to move through the building with your brother. Come along, we can’t afford to get distracted.”

Sarah took just a moment to wonder if her brother hadn’t ended up as spellbound by Nyx as she’d ended up being with Jareth, but now wasn’t a good time to think about it. There were other, more pressing concerns. “Then let’s hurry. I don’t think that once they figure out she’s free they’re going to be happy. They’re going to be after us to stop them to keep them from freeing the others.

“Hmm,” Jareth agreed, and they headed after her brother. “A reasonable conclusion.”

They hurried after them and found Nyx and Toby had been blocked off by the Keres in the hall. Sarah’s eyes narrowed on them and she sprinted down the hall towards them. Jareth’s surprised shout met her ears, but she didn’t give herself a chance to think about what she was doing, dropping down into a slide between her brother and the goddess and popping up in front of them. Once she was certain she had the attention of the creatures, she gave them a grin and punched one in the face. She ran between them, then, now that she had their attention, a smirk curving her lips.

A surprised shriek of pain and anger almost made her ears bleed, but she ignored it. The weight of the sword slapped against her thigh from where she’d slipped it through a belt loop, its weight a relief. She didn't want to have to use it, but she very well might. As she ran, she came across a few cultists, grabbing their cloaks of darkness and ripping it off of them as she passed. If she was going to be a distraction, she was going to make sure she got as much attention as she could.

She knew Jareth would yell at her for this, later. He was a worrier, she’d learned that a year ago. Especially when she was involved. But he should remember from now on that she was an excellent distraction. Especially when it came to drawing the attention of supernatural nastiness.

She’d gotten better at running, and didn’t tire as easily as she had when she was running with him a year ago. After that incident, she’d learned to run for survival. Even with the training she’d done, she knew she was going to regret the past hours for about a week. For now, though, she knew she could keep just outside of their reach. 

She saw a doorway in the hall and she grabbed the frame, hooking herself into it even as her shoulder smashed into the opposite side of the frame from her speed. This room was empty. It seemed, to her, like some form of warehouse to store creepy dolls or something. She moved towards one of the shelves in curiosity and found that the things looked like humans.

Homunculi?

There was a puff of glitter next to her and Jareth was walking towards her, his temper bearing down on her, cutting like a knife.

“I swear to the goblins, if you ever do something like that, again -”

“I know,” she snapped back. She pulled the pouch from her pocket and shoved her finger into it, rubbing the cocaine into her gumline again, then shoving the bag at him. “You’re the one who told me we’d need a distraction.”

He looked at her for a long moment, and there was resigned amusement that softened the anger in his eyes. “You managed that, sufficiently, precious - in addition to scaring me witless. And pissing off everyone in the building.”

“They were already pissed off,” she managed, turning back to the shelves to get a better look at the creations on the shelves. “Jareth, are these what I think they are?”

His expression turned grim as he viewed what laid on the shelves. “Homunculus,” he snarled. “He couldn’t convince enough actual humans to join him, so he ended up with a build your own cultist bar.”

She almost snorted, covering her nose and looked at him. She heard the cultists and the keres start pouring into the room, and they turned towards them. This time, Moros was with them and looking pleased with himself because he had back-up. She felt the air around them crackle around them, thick with the scent of ozone. On a whim, she drew from that energy in addition to what she could pull up from the earth and set her hands into fists, shifting her weight into a fighting stance.

“I can tell well enough that I have misstepped,” Moros said, sneering as he moved forward. “It would have been a far better decision to get you on my side. Such a pity.”

Jareth snorted, his lips twitching. “I can say from experience that would have never happened. Sarah is far too full of goodness and light to ever step over to your side. I tried when she was a girl and she turned me down. And I can tell from here I’ve got far more to offer than you.”

Moros sputtered, looking furious and glared at Jareth with eyes full of hate.

“We need to keep the bloodshed to a minimum, Jareth,” she said to her lover, her voice quiet. She could feel him shifting into a fighting stance, too, as they were surrounded. “We don’t know if any of the cultists are human.”

“Lovely,” Jareth said, his voice dark with sarcasm. 

She hadn’t expected him to be pleased with that. “You want to take the leader and the Keres, and I’ll handle the ones who will probably die if you punch them too hard?”

“I wouldn’t kill them, precious.” His voice was just on the edge of tart. “Brain damage is another story, entirely.”

The faces of their opponents grew angry, especially Moros, and Sarah bit back a laugh. It reminded her of a year ago, as well. She reached and brushed her fingers against Jareth’s hand and she shot him a bit of a grin. “We’ll argue later, okay?”

“Just argue?” A laugh left her lover, and she grinned again. “Is that how your tongue keeps ending up in my mouth?”

“We’ll discuss the merits of destroying more of my furniture, later, too.” That drew another laugh from him and she bit her lip.

“ENOUGH!” Moros snarled. “Bunny, kill the mortal bitch. I’ll handle this fae bastard -”

“Hardly a bastard, Moros,” Jareth countered, his lips curling into a dark smile. “Of the two of us, I actually had a father.” Moros lunged forward and Jareth side-stepped, making sure to keep him away from Sarah in the process. As he prepared to square off against the personification of the inevitability of death, he gave a careless laugh. “Such a temper, and impatient to boot.”

Sarah met Bunny’s gaze as the woman stepped forward and Sarah noticed for the first time that she seemed to be crumbling. Cracks were visible on the side of her face, and she felt a stirring, almost like pity in her chest. A homunculi, she realized, one that was running on empty. Then, she remembered the look of betrayal and hurt on her brother’s face when Bunny had revealed herself. Power and temper crackled across her knuckles and she looked Bunny in the eye, a cold smile curving her lips.

She didn’t have time to focus on Jareth’s fight after that. Bunny and the other cultists threw themselves at her at once and she used what skills she had to deflect blades and hit them whenever she could. Eventually, she ended up pulling the sword for extra reach, using it to hit with a little more oomph. She realized she could channel her magic through it, and kept her focus on the cultists trying to swarm her.

She whipped the can of mace from her pocket, blowing the whole of it in a few bastard’s faces, using the shelves to narrow down the number that could come at her at once, slipping between shelves when they got too close, and forcing them to follow her. She was laser focused on them until a cry of startled pain caught her attention and her focus broke as she turned towards her lover. Pain and fear clenched her guts because she recognized that damn sound. It was the same sound he’d made when the pooka had attacked him a year ago.

No.

A fist caught her across the face and she felt a blade slice into her shoulder. She turned her head, finding Bunny looking at her with a sneer across her face as she pushed the blade deeper into her shoulder. Sarah lifted her free hand, wrapping it around the blade and holding on. The grip kept the bitch from pressing it deeper, and she ground her teeth in the facsimile of a smile.

Jareth, she thought, but didn’t give it a voice as her eyes narrowed with her temper. You’d better be okay.

“What’s the matter, bitch?” Bunny’s voice was cruel and taunting and she ripped the blade from her shoulder. Blood immediately started soaking the shoulder of her shirt, and Sarah ignored it. The pain helped her focus, as it had a year ago when Jareth had stabbed her in almost the same place. “Want to cry over losing your precious fae lover?”

“Not really,” she admitted. She’d have time to cry over that, later. “I’ve done that before, already. Now, I just pity the bastard who hurts him. Because if he’s wounded enough that I end up dealing with Moros, I’m going to kill him.” She kept her voice on the mild side, and curved her lips into a dark smile

Bunny scowled, as if angry that the taunt wasn’t effective, and lunged at her. Sarah tossed the sword to her off hand, curled her other into a fist and punched her in the face light and quick. The contact was jarring enough that Bunny stumbled backwards, looking surprised. Sarah moved towards her, punching her a second time, and then a third, quick light jabs that were more about keeping her off balance than they were to knock her flat.

The next cry of pain wasn’t Jareth, and had a note of petulance to it that reminded Sarah of Toby when he was a child and would get hurt doing something he’d been warned would hurt him. Bunny looked away from her, a stunned expression on her face and that was all that Sarah needed to see to tell her that Moros had taken the hit that time. She planted one foot and used that as a pivot point, turning and bringing her other foot up and across Bunny’s jaw hard enough that it knocked her out.

When her foot hit the ground, Bunny landed a moment later. The other cultists seemed to second guess fighting her for a moment before another took her place, fists flying, temper in his gaze. Sarah did her best to defend against the assault, but this one was a better fighter than Bunny and she took a few hits. She was about to knock this one flat, as well, when a hand grabbed her by her throat.

She was whipped around, and found herself facing Jareth who was looking at her, his entire face going deathly pale.

She could hear the ragged breaths of the one who held her and knew from Jareth’s expression that Moros had gotten his hands on her. The hand kept getting tighter, and she lifted her free one, digging her fingernails into his skin. She heard him hiss in pain, but his hand only tightened. That wasn’t working, but she kept digging her nails into his skin, hissing in pain.

Spots started to dance in her vision and she heard Moros bark a command at Jareth, and then the sound of the spear hitting the floor. She opened her eyes and glared at her lover. He should have just run it through her to get to him, she thought, remembering when he’d done that before. She also remembered that she’d chastised him for that, called it a betrayal of her trust of him.

Then, she remembered the sword in her own hand and she opened her eyes, looking at Jareth. He was looking at her, his expression tense, and he was saying something about Moros releasing her, but now that Jareth didn’t have his leverage, there wasn’t a chance in hell that would happen. So, Sarah decided to do the only thing that made sense, right then. She gave him a grin, and dropped the hand that had been clawing at Moros’s.

Wrapping both hands around the hilt of the sword, she looked her lover in the eyes and saw a flash of surprise and panic in his and he shook his head as if to tell her not to. She didn’t respond to his request. He could yell at her for this, later, after they both made it through this. Instead, she lifted the sword, turning the tip towards her and drove it through her midsection and into Moros.


	14. Chapter 14

“You bitch, you stabbed me!?”

Sarah heard the surprise and pain from the man who was holding her neck before that hand went slack and she was pushed away from him. Jareth caught her as the pain of stabbing herself caught up with her. Her knees went weak and she went to the ground, and he went with her. She felt his hands grip the hilt of the sword and she gripped his hands, shaking her head. 

“If you pull it out now, I’ll just bleed more. Just leave it until this shit is dealt with?”

Her voice sounded roughened by pain. She was fairly sure she hadn’t hit anything vital, but fuck, she hadn’t expected it to hurt so badly. Then again, when he’d stabbed her, it had been in the shoulder. She could see the temper in his expression, but everything around them seemed to have stopped, as if her stabbing herself had shocked everyone to the point of inaction.

“Sarah,” Jareth breathed, not seeming to have noticed that the others weren’t coming at them, yet. “Why the fuck -”

She gave a rough laugh, biting her lower lip because laughing fucking hurt, too. “Because, you idiot. You didn’t. Don’t you ever let anyone use your feelings for me against you. If you have to stab me to save me like you did last year, you fucking do it.” She hesitated a minute, meeting his confused gaze. “I trust you enough to do that and not kill me.”

His expression was changing to a different one and the murky look in his eyes was fading. The startled cries from the cultists drew Jareth’s attention and when his eyes lifted towards them, she saw the terrible retribution in them. He stood, his skin luminous in the dark, and he threw a hand out slamming all of the cultists back away from them, from her. He was stepping away from her, when the lights in the room all turned on at once.

The brightness was a shock after spending the better part of 24 hours in total darkness. Sarah flinched from it, closing her eyes and shielding them with one hand. She could hear the screams of the Keres and the shocked cries of the cultists. When Sarah opened her eyes, she saw their cloaks of darkness had been ripped away with the brightness of the lights.

Sarah’s eyes found Moros and she saw his expression was pale and genuinely afraid for the first time since she’d initially seen him. He looked around, as if expecting someone to show up, but his focus wasn’t on Jareth. Jareth snarled, storming towards him and grabbed him by the collar, hauling him to his feet.

Suddenly, air pulsed in the room and someone appeared in the center of it, behind Moros. Whoever they were, they hit reality so hard, the floor beneath them cracked and the displaced air exploded outward, rushing over Sarah and pushing her several feet back and into a shelf. Even Jareth, holding Moros by his collar, staggered back a step. When things were calm again, Sarah looked up through wide eyes and found a woman with pale hair standing there, her expression one that was enraged, even compared to Jareth’s. Her eyes were pale grey, and she was dressed in a flowing silver gown. Her stance was one that screamed aggression and anger.

“You little chickenshit, scheming, utter bastard!” the woman snarled in a softly accented voice, before another burst of temper and power left her, streaming over the room. Several homunculi were sent crashing off the shelf. She stormed towards Jareth and Sarah’s urge to defend him had her on her feet, even with the sword sticking out of her gut. Instead of going for the Goblin King, however, the woman grabbed Moros and ripped him from Jareth’s hands. “How dare you use me and mine like this?! How dare you drag us into this, you -” She stopped talking, as if her rage were so great it was holding her words hostage. She lifted a hand and Sarah saw silver magic glowing in her palm.

Before she could blast Moros or anything else to smithereens, Jareth grabbed her arm, keeping her from releasing it, damping the magic. The woman’s face snapped towards hers, rage aimed at him. Jareth just gave her a mild smile.

“Selene, while I can sympathise with your anger, there are mortals in the building.” She struggled against his grip, and Sarah suspected that the woman didn’t give two shits about the other mortals. “Specifically, some that I would prefer not to end up trapped under the rubble you’re about to turn this building into. One of which being my bride and future queen.”

Selene turned towards Jareth, and seemed to see past the bastard she held aloft for a moment. Then, her eyes moved beyond him and Sarah locked eyes with her. She gave a pained smile and a wave, trying to pretend she didn’t still have a sword sticking out of her midsection, supported by one of her hands, even as she tried to keep her feet. The woman looked back at Jareth and took a deep breath, the silver vortex in her hand dissipating harmlessly. “Very well, Jareth, King of the Goblins. Out of courtesy for what your lover has done for the Underground.”

It was clear to Sarah that Selene didn’t give a flying fuck about mortals for the most part. Her rage had everything to do with what was done to her, and that if Sarah hadn’t saved Jareth, freeing him to wake others, this could have ended quite differently. That wasn’t comforting, but it also wasn’t a surprise. It was always a risk when dealing with Faerie creatures.

“Much obliged,” Jareth said, his tone thick with sarcasm. After he was certain she wasn’t going to blow them all up, he turned back towards Sarah. Seeing her on her feet seemed to cause exasperation and amusement in equal measure. He strode to her side and was easing her back to the ground as Toby and Nyx rushed into the room. From where she was laying, Sarah could see two others with them now. One had similar looks to Nyx, with dusky purple skin and hair that was shades of purple to gold with every color of the sunrise in between. The other was just light - there wasn’t another word for it. Looking at that form actually hurt, so instead, she closed her eyes and leaned against her lover with a quiet groan.

“Sarah?! What happened?!” Toby gasped, rushing towards her. He whirled towards Jareth, temper in his gaze. “What the fuck -”

Sarah lifted her hand, wagging a finger at her brother. “Don’t get angry with him. He didn’t do this, and it’s not his fault.” She managed to get out through clenched teeth.

“Believe it or not, she chastised me for not being the one to do it,” Jareth said, and she could hear the familiar sound of his temper in his tone. “Even though when I did it a year ago, she got all pissed with me and ranted about it breaking her trust in me. Apparently that’s different, now, and I should have known that already.”

She almost laughed, but remembered that it hurt before the first huff left her. “Can we discuss this, later? For now, get this damn sword out of my guts and heal me if you’ve got the energy for it?” She managed, shifting to try to ease the discomfort. Beyond their circle, she could see cultists and the Keres were being rounded up by the goddesses in the room with them.

“Wait, you stabbed her before?!” Toby shot Jareth a glare, but her lover didn’t even look at him.

“To break a spellbinding, Toby,” she ground out. “This time I did it to myself.”

“To yourself?! Sarah, what the actual fuck -”

He shifted her to the ground, meeting her gaze before his hand wrapped around the hilt of the sword. She ground her teeth as he pulled the sword carefully from her. Then, he grabbed his glove between his teeth and his fingers brushed over the now freely bleeding wound in her stomach. The healing, this time was on the painful side of pleasant, she noted. The tingling caress of his fingers was just a little sharper than usual and she wondered if that was because Jareth’s temper was still on edge. 

Rather than stopping there, his fingers next went to the cut in her shoulder, healing that one and that time it was much more pleasant. His eyes met hers and a smirk curved his lips when she gave a quiet moan. “I’ll get the rest of your injuries, later. Right now, I’m just glad you’re not bleeding out, you stubborn fool.”

A quiet laugh drew her attention and Sarah saw Nyx standing near them, her hand over her mouth. There was amusement in those moonlight eyes. Then, she turned towards her son and Sarah saw the amusement in her expression fade. The primordial goddess seemed to swell in size, darkness radiating out from her form, her power seeming to fill the room.

Son, her voice boomed, and Sarah didn’t think she’d ever heard more clear parental disapproval before in her life. Moros shrank away from his mother. Even Selene seemed to flinch from the tone. Moros looked genuinely afraid, trying to slink away, but a large dark hand grabbed his shirt and held him still. I had considered punishing you, myself, as I had when you were a boy. However, I must consider the number of people whom you have harmed. I can no longer justify that. If it had simply been me, I would have no problem punishing you.

She turned towards Jareth and Selene, a terrible look on her face. I am giving him to you both to take before the courts of the Underground to determine what is to be done with him. He must pay for every crime he committed against everyone, Underground and Above.

That darkness swelled further, before the dusky purple-skinned woman stepped forward. Her hand came to rest on her mother’s wrist, and Nyx looked towards her. When she did, the darkness seemed to soften. The woman gave her a soft smile, and nodded her head. “Mother, you have been trapped here, the longest. Go home and leave the rest to those of us who haven’t been. Aether and I can handle Moros, even more so with the aid of the Lady of the Moon and the Goblin King.”

Sarah got to her feet with Jareth’s aid, feeling an ache in her side that wasn’t there before she was stabbed. Her hand covered it instinctively, but she was able to keep her feet as she walked towards Nyx. “Hemera is right.”

Nyx turned towards her, that moonlight gaze fixed on her. She could feel Jareth’s hand at her lower back, as if he were keeping track of if she wobbled again.

“You’ve been fighting longer than any of us. You’ve earned your rest. Let us mop up the rest of the mess.”

A smile curved her lips and she set her hands on her shoulders. Nyx’s touch was very gentle, Sarah noted. The Underground is in your debt, Sarah Williams. If you ever find yourself in danger again, you can count on me and mine to offer aid to you. Then, she turned towards Toby who offered her a grin that was all boyish charm. Keep each other out of trouble, hmm?

“Easier said than done,” Jareth said from behind her, his tone tart. Nyx gave him an amused smile, and then she seemed to fade, disappearing as Aether came to stand beside Hemera. Jareth moved beside them, flanking Selene turning his gaze on those who were there. She turned to join them and saw Toby moving forward as Bunny started coming to. Her face was crumbling further. Toby went and stood in front of her, his expression tight. Sarah stepped between her brother and lover, looking at those who had stood against them.

Goblins started pouring into the room, some of them dragging the Keres in with them. The creatures had gone sullen at the release of their mother and siblings, and seemed to realize their game was up. No one spoke until everyone finished pouring into the room. When it finally went silent and still, Hemera spoke.

“Moros, you have committed more harm than we could have ever imagined. In your ego, you’ve caused grievous injury in not one, but two realms, and have cost the life of your own kind. You’re being turned over to the fae courts for your actions. Doing a test run of this in the Underground was a terrible choice, brother, because now every kingdom there is going to want a piece of your ass for it.”

Moros glared at Hemera, his lips curling. “It doesn’t matter! In the end I’ll still get my due.” His eyes whipped towards Sarah and he pointed to her. “Eventually, bitch, you’ll die. You’ll die, and you’ll be under my power, then.”

Sarah turned towards him, met his gaze without fear. She shook her head, scoffing. “You say that like it’s supposed to scare me. I know I’m going to die someday. I’m mortal. But I want you to remember this, asshole. When I’m facing you next death isn’t going to be a concern of mine. So if you think I won’t do everything I can to tear you to shreds at that point, you have no idea who the fuck you’ve been dealing with.”

Jareth gave a quiet snort, and she felt his arm slip around her waist.

“Toby,” Bunny said, her voice drawing her attention and she turned a cold gaze on her. She found her brother looking down at Bunny from where he stood beside her.

“Don’t bother, Bunny. Just...don’t say a word.” His hands shook and Sarah saw him curl them into fists. The muscle in his jaw flexed and she knew he was doing his best to hold in his temper. “I trusted you. I loved you. Sarah and I came to save you, and you were working with them to destroy this world. You were willing to kill me and my sister when Moros was still in control of the situation.”

“But I love you, Toby -”

“No, you don’t. And I want nothing to do with you ever again.” His voice was grim and angry. He paused, looking towards Hemera and Selene. “Do whatever you think is appropriate to them,” he said, before he walked over to stand with Sarah and Jareth.

“With pleasure,” Selene said, and her tone reminded Sarah of whenever Jareth was really pissed off. She felt a moment of pity for Bunny before she remembered the hurt on her brother’s face when she’d revealed her betrayal. Then, that feeling was squashed. “Homunculus. And running out of power, too. You’ll be coming with me. I think a hundred years in service to the moon will do worlds for your personality. Split the rest of the homunculi off, and they will come with me as well. Any humans will have their memories of the incident wiped.”

“I take the privilege of handling the Keres, in that case,” Jareth said, his tone cool. “They will be working in service of the Goblin Kingdom until further notice. It’s been awhile since I had the chance to spice the Labyrinth up with something new.”

Sarah side-eyed her lover for a long moment, but in the end said nothing about it. He just gave her a smirk that made her shake her head and squeezed her tighter against his side. “I’ll try to not think about future runners and their terror from dealing with those particular things.”

The goblins started disappearing with the Keres, but one of them came skirting up to her, and looked at her with wide eyes and a broad grin. “Doesn’t Champion want something for saving kingdom?”

Jareth coughed quietly beside her and she slanted a glance in his direction before crouching beside the goblin and giving him a grin. “Your king and I will be discussing that later, I think. I’m pretty sure he’s got ideas and suggestions for how to reward me.”

“Oh, I’ve many,” he agreed, and the official sounding tone in his voice was lightened by the smirk on his lips.

“In the meantime, however, I think it’s time Toby and I got home. I’ve got parents I need to check in on and I’m exhausted,” she admitted and looked up at her lover. He offered her his hand and pulled her back up to his side. His eyes searched hers for a long moment and she gave him a smile, setting a hand on his chest. “You up for a transport?”

He hesitated for just a moment, then a resigned smile curved his lips. “I’m afraid, precious, that I have to remain behind and help finish cleaning things up here. I know how you are about things being fair, and it wouldn’t be if I left them to handle the situation on their own.” She bit her lip, disappointed. Still, he gave her a smile and pulled the whistle from around his neck, setting the long cord it hung on around hers. She blinked, looking up at him in surprise. “I think you can handle this, precious. It’s your property and I should have trusted you with it long ago.”

She looked up at him and understood what he was telling her without words. She was giving her this link between their worlds, so she could have free access to reach him. Part of that was so she wouldn’t do dangerous things to reach him if she needed to, and she knew it. But there was more to it, and they’d discuss that, later. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and looked towards her brother. She offered him her hand and Toby took it, looking at her in confusion as she lifted the whistle to her lips and blew into it.

Less than a second later, they were in his apartment. It was empty, now, though the door still stood open. Toby stood there in his living room for a long moment, his brow furrowed, as if he was turning thoughts over and he wasn’t certain how he felt about them, yet.

“Sarah,” he said, after a long moment of standing there, clinging to her hand.

She turned and looked at him, tilting her head in askance.

“What am I?” He asked, his brow furrowed just a bit.

Leave it to him to ask her a question that complicated. Still, she gave her baby brother a smile and turned to face him, taking his other hand in hers and giving both a squeeze. “You’re my brother. And you’re a goblin. And you’re a human. And all of that means you’re a lot stronger than you know. But regardless of all of that, I’ll be here with you while you figure out what all of that means for you.”

A laugh escaped him and he shook his head, looking her in the eye. “I suppose that means all this weirdness in my life isn’t even close to finished, huh?”

“Probably not,” she laughed, smiling at him. “In fact, I’d say definitely not. After all, you are related to me.”


	15. Chapter 15

After Sarah had gotten home, she noticed that the clock had disappeared at some point. No one was entirely certain when that had happened, but they all took it to mean that they’d stopped it in time. After dropping Toby off, she went back to her apartment to see everyone had picked up where they’d left off. The news, broadcasting networks, people’s daily lives. Never before was the concept of a Monday thru Friday work week more obviously a manmade construct.

She’d sat up, watching the news for several hours after returning home.She’d wondered if her lover hadn’t reordered time in order to explain away the clocks and calendars all being marked correctly on people’s computers and cell phones. It was unsettling, how for the rest of the world, the events she’d taken part in had never happened.

She’d fallen into a fitful sleep, eventually, when her last dose of cocaine wore off. She’d been on her feet for more than twenty four hours total, dealing with magical mischief and trying to save the world. She wasn’t entirely certain how she’d managed that, even now. Not the falling asleep, or dealing with all the crazy that had taken place in the last day. It was made more difficult because Jareth hadn’t come straight to her, and so she didn’t see him in the hours after things finally quieted down.

She woke up sometime near midday, a heavy weight over her midsection and when she rolled over, she found Jareth laying there. She looked at his sleeping face in surprise, feeling a twist of worry in her heart. He seldom just crawled into bed with her to sleep. If she was sleeping when he arrived, usually, he woke her up for some mischief before they’d pass out in her bed.

She lifted her hand, working it through his hairs, finding some of the strands crushed and tangled. She eased the tangles loose, fluffing the hair that wasn’t crushed by the pillow. As she did, she considered his face, noting the dark marks under his eyes, the way his luminous skin looked a bit dull and gray compared to usual.

He was exhausted.

His brow scrunched a bit after a long moment and his brilliant blue eyes opened, meeting hers. They were dulled by fatigue, as well, but he gave her a grin that was wile for all the exhaustion in it. He tightened his arm about her waist, hugging her closer. “You fell asleep with a destroyed apartment door, precious. Honestly, do you enjoy making me worry so?”

She glanced towards the door and found that it wasn’t in pieces any longer. In fact, it didn’t look like anything had ever touched it in the first place. It was closed and secure, once again. She turned her gaze towards him and gave him a small smile before she answered. “I was tired.”

“Hmm,” he murmured in acknowledgement. He closed his eyes again, doing nothing at all to stop the fingers she was working through his feathery hair. “I’m quite certain that you were. You lost a fair bit of blood, even with me healing you as soon as it was safe to do so. You should have something rich in iron later. Steaks or sushi?”

That sounded almost like he was suggesting they go on a date. She gave him a suspicious look, her lips twisting in amusement. “Will I be eating alone?”

He cracked his eyes, and a grin curved his lips. “Hmm. No, I think not. I need to go along to make sure you do what I said. So I suppose we’ll be eating together, tonight. If you’re up for it.”

She nodded in agreement, a smile curving her lips. She considered his expression for a long moment, the bone-deep exhaustion in it. She hesitated to bring up what they needed to talk about, but he was here, now. She wasn’t certain when he’d be needing to go back to the Underground.

“We needed to talk?”

“More than that, my love, we needed to sleep.” The words were accompanied by a sleepy smile and his hand slipped up her side, cuddling her closer. After a moment of snuggling her, he went very serious and his fingers found her chin, tilting her face so she couldn’t look away from him. “Never do that again. Hurting yourself to hurt our enemy. I can’t bear that, Sarah.”

She slipped her fingers from his hair, cupping his cheek in her palm. “Then don’t you ever let anyone ever use me against you like that again. What were you thinking, Jareth? Dropping that spear? He was going to kill me regardless of your cooperation, you know that. Next time, just do like you did with the Gancanagh and you stab me and the one who has hands on me.”

“Are all mortals as confusing and frustrating as you, precious?” he asked, his expression conflicted, even as his lips curved into an exasperated smile.

“I don’t know.” Sarah felt a grin pulling at her lips, too, as she answered him. “But somehow I doubt it.”

A laugh bubbled up from her lover, and he pushed a hand back through his hair. She felt a giggle escape her and they eventually lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few minutes. She could feel his fingers brushing against her side, not far from where she’d stabbed herself. His thumb stroking lazy, soft circles as they lay there, snuggling close. He was just opening his lips to speak when her cellphone rang near her head.

He gave a theatrical groan, rolling onto his back as she rolled towards her phone, lifting it so she could see the screen. Her mother’s name showed on the screen and she remembered that she hadn’t called her to check on her. A sigh escaped her and she glanced at Jareth for a long moment before answering the phone. “Hi, mom.”

“Sarah, is everything alright? You called me at three in the morning, I must have been asleep.” Her mother, Linda - now Linda Stewart - sounded worried. She could relate, she’d worried about her mother and father and stepmother, as well.

“Yeah, mom. Everything’s fine, I promise. I just had something I wanted to tell you.” She hesitated a moment, glancing towards her lover, who had shifted to get out of her bed. She reached out, snagging him by the back of his trousers, giving him a tug that had him landing back onto the bed beside her. It earned her a look of annoyance, but she just slipped her hand through his, giving it a squeeze.

“What’s up, sweetheart?” her mother asked, still sounding concerned.

“Mom, I’m getting married.” She said it, smiling at Jareth as she did, and he looked up at her in wide-eyed surprise.

“What?!” Her mother yelped, sounding as surprised as her lover looked. “When did this happen?”

Sarah grinned, lacing her fingers with Jareth’s. “Depends on what we’re counting,” she admitted. “He asked me initially a year ago, but -”

“And your father and I haven’t gotten a chance to meet this mystery man, yet?! We didn’t even know you were dating someone!”

Sarah winced, but her grin wouldn’t go away and she kept right on looking into Jareth’s eyes as she spoke. “Well, we’ve both been sort of busy. And even though he asked me a year ago, didn’t mean it was necessarily going to work out. So I didn’t want to tell anyone, until now. I guess I was worried all this time he’d get tired of me.”

Jareth’s brilliant blue eyes were searching hers with intensity and he shifted towards her. “As if I’d have it in me to let you go, precious,” he said, a smirk curving his lips that was softened by the light in those eyes.

“Okay, so when is this wedding, I guess,” Linda said, sounding bewildered.

“We’re still working on that part, mom. But I wanted to tell you. I still have to call dad, and tell him, too.” Assuming Jareth didn’t pounce on her. His expression was starting to make her think he was going to pounce on her before this call was over.

There was a long pause on the end of the line. “Does your brother know?”

“Toby knows about him,” she confirmed, her lips twitching into a smile. No need for her mother to know, however, that her brother not only knew of him, he’d been aware of all of this for ages, and had actually met him.

“So, when are we going to meet him.” It wasn’t a question.

Sarah saw panic flash on her lover’s face for just a moment and he gave his hand a squeeze, smiling at him. “I’ll talk to him about it and see when we can all get together, okay?”

Another long silence on the other end of the line. Then, her mother sounded wistful as she asked the question she’d known was coming.

“Do you love him?”

She knew Jareth heard that question, his eyes had widened a bit, his pupils dilating as he looked at her. She gave him a wide smile, her heart feeling like it was swelling with all the emotions in her chest. A sigh slipped between her lips and her eyes closed as she answered her mother. “Yes, mom. I love him. More than I have words to express.”

Whatever her mother said next was lost when Jareth pinned the wrist holding her phone down to the bed and leaned over her. He kissed her so deep, it felt like he was trying to devour her. She could hear her mother talking, but couldn’t have answered since her lover had tied up most of her neural functions and her mouth with his extracurricular activity. After a moment, he took her phone from her, lifting it to his ear and she blinked, looking up at him.

“I apologize, Linda. Your daughter will have to call you back, later.” Then he hung up the phone, tossed it behind him and leaned down and kissed her again, his tongue getting reacquainted with the further reaches of her mouth. She gave a surprised giggle, then a happy groan left her as she wrapped her arms up around him, her leg thrown over one of his.

His weight settled against her and she curled her hands behind his neck, urging him to not go too far away. For just a moment, he broke the kiss and drew back, looking down at her with mischief in his eyes.

“I believe, precious, that you owe me an argument,” he said, and his voice was light and teasing, his lips brushing hers with every word. The declaration startled a giggle out of her. “And the potential for destroying some of your furniture in the process. I believe we’ll start with this bed. I never liked this bed, you know?”

She gave another giggle before his lips found hers again and she hugged him tight against her, pressing her body closer to his. She slid her hands down his back and dragged her nails up the length of it, enjoying the way he hissed against her lips in response. “You don’t like my bed?”

“Not even a little,” he murmured against her mouth, his hands working the t-shirt she wore up her sides until he drew back enough to pull it off of her, tossing it into the apartment over his shoulder as he’d done with her phone. He leaned down, again, but didn’t kiss her lips this time, his lips on her neck before she felt the sharp scrape of his teeth against her skin. A moment later, he bit down hard enough that it stung and she cried out, arching towards him before he soothed the area with a wet slide of his tongue.

She curled her hands into his starlight hair, arching towards him, the tingle of his bare skin against hers drawing a quiet groan of pleasure from her. The feeling was everywhere, his magic pulsing against her skin. An idea managed to break through the pleasure assaulting her and she grinned. She closed her eyes, focusing for a moment and starting to draw power up through her and she knew the moment he felt it crackling against her skin because he went very still and a choked sound escaped him.

He lifted his face, and there was wicked intent in his gaze as his brilliant blue eyes pierced hers. “Oh, we really do need to examine these new quirks to your gifts that you’re discovering, precious.”

The tone in his voice was husky, and she felt him hard and thick against her hip. She grabbed the hair on the sides of his face, using it to pull him down and kiss him, again. “Less talking, more destroying this bed you hate, yeah?”

“As my lady wishes,” he laughed and she didn’t have the ability to think about much after that. They wasted precious seconds squirming out of pants and underwear before he slipped his arms under her knees. She felt the head of his cock brush against her and her head fell back against the bed, arching to try to push them closer, still. He laughed, and when he filled her, they both gave answering moans. There was no slowness or teasing in him. He started fucking her - hard, deep thrusts that had her arching towards him and crying out for want of more. She dragged her nails up his back again, earning another hiss of pleasure from him. His lips found her neck again, his teeth worrying the flesh there.

Each time their hips met, she heard the bed strain under the force of it, but he effectively drove any concerns or thoughts out of her head. In a detached way, she heard something slamming, a rhythmic pounding that wasn’t her bedframe smacking the wall. She couldn’t place the sound and Jareth didn’t seem to give a damn about whatever it was.

All Jareth let her focus on was him. His hands sliding over her skin, his teeth and lips brushing against her, his cock filling her over and over until they came together. She came with a cry that she didn’t bother trying to muffle. Jareth’s teeth pricked her skin, again, just on the edge of too much but it spiked her release as his hips pressed against hers and he throbbed inside of her.

His body crushed hers, and she clung to him, her embrace as tight as his own. She definitely needed to find the time to tell him she loved him more often, she thought, a smile curving her lips. As they regained awareness of everything around them, Sarah noted that the bed’s metal frame had still managed to hold out to their vigorous sex. She bit her lip, but a giggle squeaked out of her, anyways.

Jareth lifted his head, looking at the bed beneath them with consternation, then he snapped his fingers. It gave a shuddering jolt and the metal whined before the frame gave out. Another laugh burst out of her and she saw him looking down at her with a pleased grin on his face. Then, she heard swearing and the sound of her downstairs neighbor slamming a broom up against the floor. 

“I suppose it’s fortunate that they didn’t hear us fuck a hole in your bathroom door, last night,” Jareth teased, his tone a quiet growl that, as ever, did wonderful things to her libido. She laughed, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him down against her chest. Her lover relaxed against her, still buried inside of her, his arms tight around her. “When do you wish for me to meet your family?”

She let her fingers play through his soft hair as he cuddled her, finding his weight over her a comfort. “I’ll see what we can work out after I talk to my dad.” She hesitated for a moment, a thought coming to her mind that caused her to grow sad. She brushed her fingers down his cheek, drawing his attention until he looked at her. He did so much, during what was twenty four hours for her. He’d come here, looking exhausted. “How long were you in your realm, getting things straightened out before you were able to come back here? Never mind during the situation with the moon when you were hypnotised or while time was on the clock.”

He hesitated for a long moment while he considered his answer. His fingers found hers and he laced them together with a sigh. “I was under the thrall of the moon for about six weeks. I had a precious, brief time with you before you sent me back, and then it was closer to six months. Time moves differently, between here and there. It’s like the tide. Sometimes, just a brief period here is months there, sometimes, a month here is mere days there.”

“I wondered if that wasn’t the case.” How long had he been waiting for her, she wondered, and she gave his hands a squeeze. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”

“For what?” he asked, blinking at her in confusion.

“For me.”

His perplexed expression melted away as he understood what she was saying. “Sarah -”

“I didn’t want to have another thing like this happen without me saying it to you. And here I am, making you wait longer still for me to be your wife. I told my mother it had been a year, but that’s just been on this side of the veil. It’s been much longer for you, hasn’t it.”

He glanced away from her eyes. For a long moment, she wasn’t certain he was going to answer him. She hadn’t compelled his answer, so it wasn’t like he had to. Still, his arms shifted around her waist and his head pillowed against her breasts and he sighed. “Sarah, I’m immortal - for the most part, at least. I’ve waited for a very long time for you. A few more years makes no difference in forever.”

“Will this be like it was for Grandmammy Rhi?” she asked, combing her fingers through his feathery hair.

He looked up at her, his expression warm. “You’d already be able to do that, if you wished it. Even without a ring involved. You chose to be my lover, and if you still wish to be whenever you pass, then you’ll cross the veil and come to my side. Just as she did for her husband. I admit, however, I’m greedy. I don’t want to wait that long. If you said you’d give up your world, I would spirit you away to mine right now. We’d rule the Goblin Kingdom together until we both decide it’s time to move on to the Summerlands.”

She smiled at him, her expression soft. “Maybe not quite yet, Jareth. My brother just found out that he’s got Goblin magic. He needs both of us to help him understand what that means for him. Yes, both of us, because you understand Goblin magic in ways I don’t. But there will definitely come a time when I will make that decision.

He leaned down, his forehead resting against hers. He brushed his fingers down her cheek, leaving a tingling trail in their wake. “Besides, you want your parents to get to see their daughter get married, hmm?”

She smiled up at him and nodded. He heaved a dramatic sigh and came to rest against her, again. His arms were tight around her as they lay there, her combing her fingers through his hair, taking a moment to just enjoy the quiet contentment. She knew she’d have to call her father and step-mother, later. But right now, that could wait. Everything except them could wait for now.

They’d just saved two worlds, after all. It wasn’t too much to ask, she thought, for the heroes to get some time and take a break. Her lips curved into a smile and she gave her lover a squeeze. “I have an idea.”

He went still and glanced up at her, lifting a brow. “Is this idea going to kill us?”

“It’s a Tuesday night, Jareth, I know how to restrain myself.” She scoffed, her lips twisting, somewhere between a smile and frown.

“No, darling, you absolutely do not.” He laughed, and he rolled them so she was sitting over him, again, his eyes shining up at her. “Then again, I admit that if you did, we probably wouldn’t get along half so well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end.
> 
> Now, just to get the next sequel planned out...


End file.
